I’m an old guy. I’ve known many of my friends for a very long time.

I’ve discovered that what makes friendships work is simply spending time with each other.

Years.

I’ve known one of my friends for 22 years. We enjoy seeing live music together. Our wives usually do not care for the kind of live music we love.

It’s too loud. We enjoy standing close to the stage. They don’t.

Our wives kindly release us to see music occasionally because they know we need that time together.

And we talk. Before the show. Between the sets. And in the car on the way home.

For 22 years, we’ve gotten to know each other.

We share the struggles and joys of life. We pray for each other (not during the shows) and we support each other.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Give it a while. And invest time in each other.

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Paul Merrill writes here every first Friday. He took the photo. It was dark.