What we need...

Listen to me-sit there and allow me to talk. No anecdotes or profound answers are necessary. I don't want answers. I just want you to be okay with my questions.

Last with me-I long for someone to be there in those hours when I'm afraid to call anyone else. Be available to see me through the long haul. Show me that you will not abandon me like so many have. Model a friend that does not desert me or run away when things get hard. As the years go by, show me that you are not only someone I can look up to, but that you are also someone I can walk beside.

Love on me-Show me a love that keeps on loving even when I make mistakes or embarrass you. Show me that you can dream for me when I have no belief in my own capability. Show me that you believe in me when the world is telling me that I have failed. Be someone I can respect and look up to. Give me tangible evidence of unconditional love.

Learn from me-Sit with me and learn from my life lessons. Hear what I have to say before you tell me all the things you know. It's freeing to encounter a woman who is humble enough to push her years and knowledge aside in order to hear mine.

Live with me-I love to live abundantly and fully as possible but I don't want to do it alone. Show me your faith lived out. I'd rather see a sermon than hear one. I'd rather you walk with me and watch you point the way. I want to see you live a radical life, one that is extreme and irrational at times. I want to see who you are when no one is looking.

(Caye Siller)-and other ideas.

I think we all need to see the friend behind the mask of a frightened person in times of trouble. We all need someone to lean on.