Friendship that Lasts

This week we have been watching all of the old Harry Potter movies. One or two a night. Sitting on the couch with my boys while my daughter tries to stay away cuddle in a chair with a pillow and blanket. No, I've never read the books, but Joey has. He got all of the Harry Potter movies last year for Christmas. It was the first time that I have actually sat down to watch them. Usually it's while I'm cooking dinner and I have no clue what's going on when I come back.

And, I do realize that they had to be "pretty good" to stand the test of time. After all, my twenty-one year old nephew saw some of the in the theater when he was younger. And now, several years later, my own kids are watching them. I was surprised about how much I like them. The story doesn't boil down to good and evil, although it plays a part. It isn't about witchcraft. This story is about the human spirit. The spirit in us that keeps going after everything (and everyone) says not to. It's the story of friendships that will last.

You watch Harry grow for a boy my own son's age and mature into a man. He has lost so much through the movies. His parents have been gone from the start. His aunt & uncle treat him terribly. His godfather dies. His mentor/teacher gets killed. Friends get injured and killed. Tragedy after Tragedy. (so glad it's fiction!) Plus, Harry has a thing trying to kill him. Yet, through every obstacle, he gets back up to fight another day. And, although their fate is unknown and a little shaky having Harry as a friend, Ron and Hermoine stood by him through it all.

Isn't that what we all want out of this life? Shouldn't that be our goal? It doesn't matter what life throws at us ~ shouldn't we dust ourselves off and keep going? And when we are down because this life gets to be too much, friendship is what we need. Friendship can heal. Friendship gives hope because they believe in us ~ even when we don't. That is the kind of friend that I want to be. Those lasting friendships where silence is comfortable and says so much don't just happen. Those old friends were once new friends. Every friendship has a beginning... I believe that we need to have more of these beginnings.

"For a faithful friend has no price. And there is no weight for his goodness."