May pagkakaibigang madaling lumamig, ngunit may kaibigang higit pa sa kapatid.

Mga Kawikaan 18:24

God made us for companionship. He knows that the journey of life is too long, hard, messy, and complicated that’s why He’s giving us friends along the way. Kailangan natin ng mga kaibigan to help us, cheer us up, love us unconditionally, and if necessary, correct us.

Utrecht University professor Gerald Mollenhorst and his team conducted a Friendship study in 2016 and found out that only about thirty percent of our closest friends remain tried and true after seven years and only forty-eight percent remain in our immediate social network, meaning, we talk to or hang out with them on occasion. Sabi pa ng study na ito na “we replace our friends every seven years.” Maraming darating, marami ring aalis pero sa mga nag-i-stay, thank you, mga besh. 

We all yearn for loyal friends in good times and bad dahil kailangan natin ng mga taong tatapik sa ating mga balikat, yayakap sa atin at magsasabing, “Kaya mo ‘yan, andito lang kami para sa iyo.” We need friends who will celebrate our victories, laugh at our jokes, cry with our pains, carry our burdens, tell the truth even if it may hurt us. These are the friends we can be accountable to. 

Good friends are God–sent. Ibinigay sila ng Diyos para makasama natin sa ating paglalakbay sa buhay. King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV), said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor, if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”