There are few things as heartwarming and uplifting as a kind word from an old friend.
Some people in this world are so amazing and so gracious that it makes me simultaneously want to strive to be better, while also becoming acutely aware of my own failures and weakness. They’re just people, like me – and many of them feel the same way about people they know – but to me they are so much more than just that. They are gifts from God, reminding me that there is hope and beauty in this world even as most of it proceeds to fall apart. They are shining lights in the darkness, the candle never hidden, the city on the hill.
So thank you, God, for friends like these.