Dwindling Resources - Friendship

Dwindling Resources - Friendship

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. —Pericles

OUR SENSE of well-being is threatened by the loss of three major resources: money, time, . . . and one few of us think about until it’s too late . . . friends.

Although we invest the greater part of our waking days thinking about it, making it, investing it, and spending it, money is the one mind-consuming resource that can bring us material comfort—but no consolation. No sooner do we score the big sale or close the deal than we’re out looking for the next big win. No sooner do we hang the Trina Turk in the closet or place the new sofa in the family room than we begin to assemble the next shopping list.

Time has always seemed a fleeting resource to me. I feel there’s just not enough time in the day to check off my personal to-do’s, my professional obligations, and my family commitments. I’m racing the clock like an Olympic sprinter . . . but I always seem to be pulling up the rear. As I approach my mid-century mark, my race with time has moved beyond the twenty-four-hour clock to one with a final alarm. Am I doing those things I was destined to accomplish?

While we’re busy making and spending our money and playing chase with Father Time, I think women often fail to consider one of the most important contributors to living a life of uncommon joy—the keeping and rekindling of friendships. Money will not sit at your side as you face heartbreak, nor will time celebrate with you the joys of retirement and the birth of grandchildren. Running out of both time and money in his early nineties, my dad buried his coworkers, fellow church congregants, and all but one running buddy. He did not mourn for more experiences or things, but grieved the loss of his most valuable resource—his friends.

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

In our final days, accomplishments and wealth will play no role in our sense of belonging. In our final days, time will just move faster and there will be no peace with it. In our final days, there will be one lasting resource that will bring laughter, contentment, meaning, and belonging. Friendships, new and old, will be the resource that brings us uncommon joy.