What does it take to be a “good friend?”  Is it the number of times a month you call someone?  Is it the number of times you invite them over for dinner?  Is it having shared experiences, dreams, or desires?  What is is about two people that when they meet they “click?” 

 There is a sense, I think, that friendship has become something of an “illusive creature.”  We think we have it—after all, can’t we count our friends in the pull-down menu of our facebook accounts?  Yes, I’ve now found you online, and we had a class together once.  Yes, you remember me, congratulations, we’re now friends.  But does that count as friendship?

Am I a good friend?  How do I measure it?  Is there something in which I can satisfactorily say I have been a good friend to those I value most?  Do they know I value them as I do?  Will they ever know?

Friend can be defined as “a favored companion.”  I like that.  It makes me think of someone that I can climb Mt. Everest with, help me prepare to propose to my girlfriend with, someone who will give me a punch in the arm when I’m being stupid, conquer the world with, defeat my enemies with, or at least someone that would back me up in a knife fight.  Or on the more mediocre planes of reality, just someone to serve as a journeyman through life, someone to offer me truth.  (And sometimes, just because I need it, to serve me that truth alongside a punch to the gut.)

Can I be “a favored companion” of others, as they are for me?  This today, is my prayer.  I think at least I’ll start by making a phone call.