Villages Community Chapel

If someone would ask you, “Who is your best friend?” who would it be? It shouldn’t take a long time to come up with their name. Friends are held close to the heart and not in a file cabinet labeled for extreme emergency only. A friend is someone you share your life experiences with (the good, the bad, the ugly and the indifferent) because you trust them with your life and they, in the same way, trust you.

Friendships are established over time because most people are not immediately comfortable in being transparent when it comes to sharing their situations with others, and for good reason. We learn early on in life to be less trusting when we experience being hurt and let down by the ones we thought cared about us and whom we could trust with everything.

Real friends are not only there when it’s convenient but also in times of trouble or pain, when they know you’re in need of a friend. Despite the challenges of time and distance they are always there for you and they don’t expect anything in return.  Even if you haven’t spoken or seen each other for a while, true friendship never dies. As the saying goes: “A friend in need, is a friend indeed!”  True friends simply know, they are there for each other when needed.  

Lifelong friendships require you to share your valuable time and talents for the love of a person or persons, which is rare and precious in these times. When you find a friend, whether it be your spouse, or others, it is a gift to be treasured and cherished. These types of bonds are difficult to forge but when you find a lifelong friend the friendships are worth investing in. You shouldn’t end them without a really good reason to do so (death).

I remember when things became difficult, my mother, a single parent, would stare out the window while washing the dishes and sing “What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and griefs to bear and what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” I was too young to understand the relevance of having a friend who would be there for me at all times, to listen without condemnation. Proverbs 17:17 NIV “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 18: 24 “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Who do you turn to when you really need a friend that understands and loves you for who you are regardless?

Bless us with your presence and join us this Sunday at the Villages Community Chapel in Cribari Auditorium 10a.m. to be encouraged over the Word, a cup of coffee and cookies. The chapel is a place for needs to be met, faith to be affirmed and people to love.  We would love to meet you. We continue celebrating 50 years at the Villages Golf and Country Club.

To learn more about the Villages Community Chapel visit our website at http://www.villagescommunitychapel.org/