A True Friend Never Gives Up

When she was sad I would do my best to comfort her, and when she needed to talk, I listened.

When she felt different and out of place, I tried to show her she was not.

When she hadn’t been to church in a year, I was there to write her letters and beg her to come back. When she did attend, I did everything I could to show her she was welcomed and loved.

When she was baptized in the icy pond at church camp, I was standing there with tears of happiness in my eyes.

I tried to help her grow. I tried to be a faithful friend.

When I heard she had made an attempt on her own life it crushed me. And when I saw her again after that, I tried even harder to demonstrate just how much I loved her.

But though I attempted to penetrate the walls around her, I couldn’t. She never opened up.

Through the years I proved to her that I was loyal and that I cared. I was always there. But it just wasn’t enough, and there was nothing I could do.

It’s been a long time — is it really only two years? It feels like much longer — since I’ve seen her. I could have given up by now. I could admit that there is little hope of her ever coming back. But I don’t. I still pray for her, even though it seems like there is no way. I refuse to lose faith. Because a true friend never gives up. And I want to be a true friend.

Do you?

~LDC