When we order a burger from our favorite drive thru, if they don’t get it right, most are prepared to park the car, take the burger back and have it fixed, replaced or get a refund. You may be asking yourself why I brought up a burger right this moment, while answering a question about friendship… well, first of all, I’m hungry, so everything makes me think of food right at the moment! Secondly, the prompt question made me feel like I was ordering a burger, not a friend. It’s not the prompt’s fault though, as I’ve actually found myself asking this question long before the prompt got around to it. Frankly, I’ve thought about THIS burger before today!

I had an epiphany one day, as I pondered my own feelings regarding expectations of others, whether it be a friend, peer, family member or stranger. Focus on being that which you are seeking, instead of placing expectations on others to meet your own needs.

I have very high, and most often unattainable expectations of others, which if left unchecked can only fill me with bitterness and cynicism of human beings, as a whole. We’re all lucky that this was not the mindset of Jesus, when he walked among us! When I considered how he could dwell among us, with all our flaws, and not simply throw in the proverbial towel… I heard God saying “Grace, child”.

I realized that I’d spent way too much time looking for the right kind of friends, instead of simply being that which I sought! The best thing to do is, as the bible says, love thy neighbor as yourself!

If we all did this one simple thing, I believe it would by the best answer to the prompt.

Perhaps, the quality that should be most valuable in a friend, is the effort put forth, to Love thy neighbor above ones self… we will all probably find that this one thing is what makes us the very friend we were looking for in others…

Here, have a cookie…