This week, until 8 November, Kevin Mayhew Ltd are offering 10 per cent off The Teacher, normally retailing at £14.99. That means a saving of £1.50 using the code UNFOLDING10 when ordering the book from the company’s website. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
Meanwhile, here’s the fourth of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion.
Friendship
I thought him a friend, closer than any, and I believed the bond would last a lifetime – that however much distance might separate us and our courses diverge, still it would endure. But we drifted apart and the friendship died.
I thought her a friend, one in whom I could put my trust, but differences came between us and she cut off contact, all ties severed in a moment.
I thought him a memory, a name from the past, and never dreamt our paths would cross again, but when trouble came and friends had flown, he made time to write, to visit, to care – truly a friend in need.
And I said to the Teacher, ‘Help me to know better who my friends are. How can I discern them?’
And the Teacher answered, ‘Many claim to be faithful, but how many people are there in whom we can completely put our trust? A friend is a constantly loving companion. Some people are fair-weather friends, but a genuine friend stays closer to us than our own family.’
And I understood that true friendship is the rarest yet most precious of gifts – a jewel to be treasured, a diamond to be prized. For while many may seem to be friends, even counting themselves close, few will stand with us through the twists and turns of life, always there to turn to, faithful to the last.
Then I said to the Teacher, ‘Speak more of what friendship actually means.’
And the Teacher replied, ‘Well intended are the wounds inflicted by a friend, but effusive are the kisses of an enemy.’
I realised then that a true friend cares enough to risk our displeasure, even rejection; that while many will tell us what we want to hear, they alone will tell us what we need to hear, and in a way to which we can listen.
And I saw that such a friend brings sunshine to the heart and nourishment to the soul, for, should we question our worth, they remind us we are valued – that however ordinary we may feel, we are special in their eyes. Where we are ugly, still they see beauty; where we are weak, still they see strength; where we are broken, still they see wholeness.
So then, my conclusion is this: like a shower in the desert, a harbour in a storm, a flower in the wilderness, so is a true friend – a rare and precious gift.