The greatest bond is the faithful friend you can always count on. When love is only butterflies and romance, it has been greatly misunderstood. The hand that holds the heart of a friend is the birth and beauty of true love.

Love masquerading as independence without connection and friendship is underrated, overlooked and incognito.

The Journey

“If one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not easily broken.”  —Ecclesiastes 4:12

Life is a journey meant for two. In the beginning, God created man and woman, and were commanded to be fruitful in their living and multiply their efforts. The heart behind true friendship embraces each other’s unique journey. And in its deepest form, the journey of two becomes the journey of one.

Every day, Romeo finds his Juliet. Whether sleepless in Seattle or sprinkled by serendipity, the deepest friendship always finds a way. For love yearns not for the sake of one, but for an everlasting bond.

Fortified

“But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  —Proverbs 18:24b

Friendship fortifies, and friendship fights. Similarly, true love never fails; it never gives up. It always believes, it always hopes, it always finds a way. Love carries the wounded warrior on the soldier’s shoulder – reliable, trustworthy and willing to sit in the ashes of defeat if necessary. Because a true friend always believes in the heart of hope lingering on its last thread.

Unbreakable

“Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.”  —1 Samuel 18:3

True friendship is always found in true love, and true love is always found in true friendship. A covenant with heart and soul is the bond of a friend that cannot be broken. It is impenetrable, fearless and loves beyond reason.

Restored

“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’”  —John 21:17

The love of a friend always restores. The eyes of a friend always sees the work of good unfolding in the heart of the broken. And the broken heart can always rely on a best friend to reset precious pieces through the careful, artisan hands of love.

Compassion

“Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”  —John 11:35-36

Hand in hand, heart in heart, the bond of love grieves alongside the pain of a friend. It cares, it shares, and carries the cross of loss, as if it were its own. It bottles tears like chests full of gold.

There is no love, no bond, no rival for such found in the heart of a true friend. When searching for love, remember that you’re also searching for deep friendship with another.

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