The Friendships of The Earth (7.2.11)

“The friendships of the Earth are not to be treated lightly,

                                               are sealed upon a mountain top,

                                               are present in eternity,

                                               are confirmed in the sought counsel of The Loving God,

                                               are destined to be the foundation of a relationship so affirmed by God.

The friendships of the Earth speak of the recollections of the soul,

                                                        of the recollections of the spirit,

                                                        of the journey of the body.

The friendships of the Earth speak to a lonely soul,

                                             speak to a spirit which is not prone to speak,

                                             speak to a body with a weakness to be extreme.

So the friendships of the Earth are built.

So the friendships of the Earth encourage.

So the friendships of the Earth outlast the time of preparation.

The friendships of the Earth are of significance to man,

                                             reveal opportunities of assistance,

                                             reveal opportunities to meet a need,

                                             reveal a crying soul,

                                             reveal a hurting spirit,

                                             reveal the mourning for what is lost,

                                             reveal the joy in the knowing of what has gone before.

The friendships of the Earth reach across divides,

                                             are carried by a marriage,

                                             are consolidated by a birth.

The friendships of the Earth are strengthened by an illness;

                                             are parted,

                                               but for a season,

                                                          by a death within a testimony.

The friendships of the Earth are sought in a time of growth;

                                             are rejected in a time when failure appears the order of the day.

The friendships of the Earth grow and bloom within the garden of repeated contact;

                                             grow and bloom with the confidence to share;

                                             grow and bloom when a confidence is kept;

                                             grow and bloom as the harbingers of love.

The friendships of the Earth transcend the roles of demarcation,

                                             transcend the impositions of a background,

                                             transcend the bounds of inheritance.

The friendships of the Earth are not a casual quirk of nature,

                                             are not found to arise from the listing of achievements,

                                             are not borne of the evil intent of man.

The friendships of the Earth are begun in times of peace,

                                             are begun in times of strife,

                                             are begun in times of stress,

                                             are begun in times of ease.

The friendships of the Earth are begun with an introduction,

                                                      with a letter from the heart,

                                                      with a list of names anxious to be known,

                                                      with an invitation to be party to a throng,

                                                      with a glance of contact which draws a greeting across a room,

                                                      with an opening of a dialogue which spans two smiling faces,

                                                      with an answer to a prayer.”