The Making of Friends by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

~ Henri Nouwen (1932 - 1996)

The Making of Friends

If nobody smiled and nobody cheered
and nobody helped us along;
If every man looked after himself
and good things all went to the strong;

If nobody cared just a little for you,
and nobody thought about me
And we all stood alone in the battle of life,
what a dreary old world this would be!

Life is sweet because of the friends we’ve made.
All things in common we share.
We want to live on, not because of ourselves,
but because of the people who care.

It’s giving and doing for somebody else—
on that all life’s splendor depends;
And the joy of the world when you sum it all up,
is formed in the making of friends.

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 -1919)

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Thought for the Moment

ISSN 1549-7771