Friends Forever

A true friend is a real gift from God. When we are blessed with friends who share our ups and downs, it is up to us to keep the friendship lasts. So many things can come in between, our work routine, family life, our laziness. It's a hard effort to nurture and maintain friendship. We don't consider it valuable until circumstances forced us to see how precious friendship is.

Today I was in my "Monday mood", which meant tired due to lack of sleep and full schedule on Sunday.Do you notice that when you were in your "blue mood", you interpret almost everything negatively? So I called my old friends, tried to arrange shopping date to refresh my spirit and brightened my mood. However they did not pick up my call or replied my message.

So while I was writing this blog, there's an urge within me to call my university friend that I have not been in touch with for almost 3 years. She answered my call and we had a good conversation. She was so surprised that I called her, especially when I said that my only call purpose is just to talk and catch up with her and nothing else.

It's so happened that her father was just admitted to the hospital due to heart condition last Saturday. She also wanted to quit her current job due to many reasons. At the end we had good sharing time and I believe our conversation has strengthened her again facing all her circumstances.

Sometimes it's so funny that even in our weakest condition, we can still be a blessing to others. Friendship is two way around. Your friend need you as you need them, it's always give and take situation. When you feel you need to take something, actually your friend also need something from you. The odd things is after the call I felt refreshed again. My friend has given me the opportunity to give and it's a blessing for me.

David and Jonathan - the story of true friendship that surpassed generations. There's no other story in the bible that portrayed the heart of real friendship between two person than this story. Jonathan loved David as himself, he even gave his robe, his tunic, his sword, his bow and his belt to David. For a soldier, your weapons were the most valuable possessions you have.

Jonathan gave his best to David. I believe that starting that day David fought all his enemies, win so many wars, using his best friend's swords and bows. It stayed with him for many years to come. In a way Jonathan was with David in every challenges and hardship he faced.

Jonathan risked his life to defend David against his own father. Never once he sold his best friend, although he knew that David was anointed to be the next King of Israel, a position that should have become his, as the first son of King Saul.

When Jonathan died, David ripped his clothes to ribbons, wept and sang this lament over Jonathan and Saul.

" O my dear brother Jonathan,

I'm crushed by your death.

Your friendship was a miracle-wonder,

love far exceeding anything I've known-

or ever hope to know "

( 2 Samuel 1 : 26 - The Message)

David took care Jonathan son, brought them to live in his palace to fulfill his promise he had made to Jonathan on the early days of their friendship.

Friends forever...

Over the years many things happen to us and to our friend. As what David said to his late friend Jonathan in his eulogy, a friendship could be a miracle wonder - a love far exceeding anything we have ever known. When we are blessed with having true friend like Jonathan to David or vice versa, it is worth our every effort to keep our friendship going ...forever...

Where To Find Freedom?

This morning while I watched Champion's league quarter final between Manchester United versus Bayern Muenchen, I came across an interesting movie at other TV station. The movie's title was "More than a game" Interestingly this movie told a story about the existence of a football league inside Robben Island, the harshest prison in South Africa during apartheid time in 1960's.

As my finger pressed my remote control, I switched back and forth between the live match of one of the richest club in the world, with the picture of the black political prisoners having football matches inside the prison.Becoming political prisoner because of the color of their skin in a remote island with wardens yelling and insulting them almost all of the time, it's amazing that they did not loose their spirit. Forty prisoners slept and lived together in one compound. One day one person started to play  ball made of used paper with his foot and who could imagine that was the seed of Makana Football Association.

They fought relentlessly and politely for the warden permission to operate the first football league inside the prison...and they succeed. They had total 9 teams divided in 3 category based on their skills. Makana Football Association managed to run their competition despite internal problems from 1966 to 1973 prior to the closure of the prison.

Football became the outlet for their valuable freedom. The prison authority can not interfere Makana Football Association's rules and decisions within their league. They faced and solved their internal problems and dispute between the teams independently, based on the FIFA rules book plus the leader's wisdom.

One thing I learned from this movie is that nobody should able to contain our spirit and mind unless we let them or we did it on purpose. If these black South African prisoners could run their own football league inside the prison during apartheid time, we should be able to come out with wild and creative ideas and put it into actions...if only we dare to take the risk and put our true effort on it.