The power of a friend

I have been blessed in so many many ways. Among the greatest of my blessings are the friends I've had the privilege of having. Friends that put your happiness even above their own, because they know that you being happy will make them happy. One night, a very long time ago, I was really upset about something and I needed someone there for me. I called up one of my best friends, Ben. When he picked up I wasn't even able to say anything. I just cried. Ben hung up the phone and a few moments later I heard the nearing 'thud thud thud' of someone running towards me. It was Ben. He didn't say anything and he didn't have to. Just being there was enough. On another occasion I was going through a very difficult time, yet was able to keep my difficulty a secret from just about everybody. One random night, however, my door bell rang. It was my friend, Mick. I hadn't seen him for a week or two and he had never really come to my house before so I thought it was a bit odd. In any case, he asked if I'd come out and take a walk with him. After we exchanged pleasantries I asked him to what I owed the pleasure of his visit. He said something to the effect of, "I actually don't know Adam. I just felt like you needed some help and wanted to make sure everything was alright." Even our innermost bottled up feelings are known by our Father in Heaven. I told Mick that everything was fine, and after that visit everything was. That visit did so much for me, and Mick didn't even know it. He just followed a prompting. Often times our prayers are answered through friends, and that was one such occasion where mine was.
Towards the end of high school I became really close to a family in my ward. I grew particularly attached to one of their sons, John. I could fill a book or two on all the crazy things we did! Last July I received a text message from my brother saying that he had heard John had died sometime that morning. I made a few phone calls. It was true. John was gone. I've always been exceptional around death. I had seen it more than a hundred times while serving in Iraq and it never phased me the least bit. Though, none of those hundred were a friend of mine. The few weeks leading up to the funeral I was ok. The emotions, however, flooded back when I went to the funeral. I, again, have been fine since the funeral and don't think of John all that often. For whatever reason I was talking to a friend about John recently and I started to get upset again about losing him. I wondered why. What I've come up with is that a friend, someone who puts your happiness even above theirs, is hard to come by. They're the ones that are so important to hang onto. Thankfully with the knowledge of the Gospel I know that I'll see him again, but it's still not easy to lose a friend. I'd be so much less of a person today without my friends. They are quite literally a blessing in one's life.