Friendship

While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

Kofi is a great friend of mine. We met when we were visiting our respective colleges as high school seniors.

He has become one of the best men I know.

It’s funny because when we first met we talked about how neither of us were going to end up at the schools we were visiting. He was visiting Claremont McKenna and I was visiting Pomona College. We were both accepted at USC and were certain that we’d end up there. We even talked about the idea of rooming together at USC when we got there.

But God had different plans for us…

There were four other great people that I met on that trip and we all became great friends. We all decided to go to these small liberal arts schools because deep down we sensed that we had a magical connection. This became clear very early on in our freshman year but in 2008 I started to see the bigger plan of my friendship with Kofi start to unfold.

This was the year that I decided to read the Bible again and Kofi is the friend that I read it with. Our friendship grew exponentially. We were able to share our questions, feelings, experiences, and our insights. When I felt like quitting he built me up. When he felt like quitting I built him up.

It has always been hard for me to open up to people. Trust has never been something that has come easily…

But through that year Kofi really taught me what it means to be a friend. Friends are people who will build you up when you are down, bring you back to reality when you are full of foolish pride, are sounding boards for your problems and teach you how to listen when you care for their issues.

Friends love you enough to help you up when you fall, forgive you when you are flawed, encourage you to follow your dreams, ask the tough questions others are scared to ask, and love you like family.

It was through this experience of reading the Bible with him that I am able to better understand the friendship between Jonathan and David. Having someone that you that believe in and love for who they are and knowing that they accept you in the same way is powerful beyond measure.

We can be strong on our own, but how much stronger do we become with great people in our lives?

So I am taking this moment to recognize not only a great man but also a great friend. And you should too, because without him this blog would not exist.

Kof I salute you.

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12: 1-31