Count Your Friends

Welcome

It is not wise to count your friends
on a bright sunny day.
When the sky is blue
and smiles come so easily.
Instead wait for a storm,
when the clouds are dark
and the day grows cold.
Laughter is not heard
in your heavy heart.
Then when a friend comes
and stands beside you
and lifts your spirits to the sky
and laughter is in your heart,
he or she deserves the name . . . FRIEND.

There is a place I like to go
Whenever I'm feeling
Lonely or sad--
A place of sunshine,
Laughter and love
That always leaves me
Feeling glad.
There I share my secrets,
Hopes and fears,
For this warm, inviting place--
Always waiting, always welcoming--
is found in my friend's smiling face.
The world is a more beautiful place
because of friends like you

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,
nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship;
it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one
when he discovers that someone else believes in him
and is willing to trust him.