Leadership Thought: How Your Dog Can Tell Who Your Friends Are.

Dear Friends,

Do you know how to tell who your real friends are? Let me tell you. I walk our dog, “Maggie,” most afternoons, and often on the last leg of my walk I will drop by the home of John and Teddie O’Neill, church members and longtime friends.

Last week as I got ready to ascend the small hill on the final leg of my walking journey, I mentioned to Maggie, “We are going to see John and Teddie,” and immediately she got excited and started barking and pulling on the leash as if to say, “Let’s go, for I can’t wait to see my good friends.”

The O’Neill’s love Maggie as much as Maggie loves them, and Maggie knows it and loves to be with them. Just the other day, I stopped by to spend a few minutes with them, and she was so excited to see them that she accidentally dribbled on their carpet. But you know what? They didn’t mind a bit. That's how you know if people are your friends: They don’t care if your dog pees on their rug.

Jean and I are so blessed to have accumulated so many friends like the O’Neill along the years of our ministry. Every time we have left one of the seven churches, we have served, a part of our hearts is left behind. It hurts to leave friends, but they are never far behind, for we carry them in our hearts where they remain as some of our most treasured memories.

One of my favorite sayings is “God has given us memories so we can smell the roses in December,” and how blessed we are to have such a treasure chest of memories. Those memories warm out hearts during those cold winter months when those frigid winds do blow, and when we long for the arrival of those warm Spring breezes. 

My mom used to remind me that the best way to have a friend was to be a friend, and I do hope that the many friendships Jean and I possess are in some small way due to the fact that we have both tried to heed my mom’s advice.

Imagine how the many friends of Paul at Philippi must have felt as they read those opening lines of his letter to them.

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from this day forth until now, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…for God is my witness how greatly I longed for you with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1: 3-9).

I am sure those Philippians loved to read those words as much as Paul loved writing them.

In one of my bibles, I keep a stack of letters of love and encouragement that I have received over the years.  Unquestionably, that Bible would be among the first things I would seek to retrieve should a fire ever consume our home.

I will never forget the words of Mother Theresa who said, "Kind words are short and easy to speak but their echoes are endless." Even better than words, however, are personally written letters, for the scent of their message remains permanent long after we have opened the envelope.

“No matter what our position or status in life, we all need friends, especially those who are genuine, loyal, and lasting. If we've found a friend like this, we should be grateful because he or she is a priceless possession.” (Charles Stanley, Sermon on Strong Friendships, Part 1).

So, get writing, get calling, get visiting, and if you do, there is no telling how many treasured friends you might make and how many lives you might bless.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. "If the world is cold, make it your business to build fires." Horace Traubel