Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends.

These days Good friends are hard to find. Or at least everyone says that. "IF" that is the actual case then why do I have so many good friends? I don't necessarily think that good friends are hard to find. I think that if you are a mature person and have the ability to understand and keep an open mind to the differences and opinions of others and be respectful of them even if you don't always agree, you can be GOOD friends with just about anyone.

Now I know that there are those people that you wouldn't WANT to be good friends with because they are a bad influence or THEY wouldn't be open minded to your personal situation, but say you had a good group of about 30 friends that you would consider CLOSE...or GOOD...its possible. I know it is for me at least. I do believe that friends come and go but not necessarily from being your friend, they just might have another path to take. I have had the same close group of GOOD friends for over a year now. Even though some of them may have left my social network and they don't work with me very often or even at all I still see them, think about them, pray for them, and I hope that they come to the big events in my life.

Good friends are easy to find for me. Because of the few years I spent having NOT so good friends I now know exactly what I look for in a friend. Any time I don't see those qualities that I look for...Away they go. You don't want something in your life that holds you back, the ideal situation is to be surrounded by people that will lift you up and take you forward WITH them. I can't believe it took me my whole teenage years to discover that. Its also nice to know that when I did eliminate those who DID hold me back, it made me feel better. I felt better about myself and my faith and I'm not blinded by hope that I can make things work. It's also a relief to find out that those friends that I did eliminate were not such good friends....they were fake. But somehow I knew that all along.

Life is BETTER for me now. I have amazing friends...TRUE friends. I have friends that I have had for YEARS, and each one of them has been a blessing to me. So for that I thank all of you...thanks guys. :)