A Friend Like a Brother

October 4, 2016 "There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." So says Proverbs 18:24. The phone rang while Linda and I were eating breakfast this morning. It was my friend Harry, asking if I were busy this morning. Only he wasn't asking a favor; he was offering one. Forty five minutes later he showed up at our door, having driven his tractor the five miles from his home just to help me clean up the mess left in our front yard from putting in the new water line. It's a good thing he came; my tractor with its smaller turf tires wasn't able to do the job. I almost got stuck in the gooey clay more than once, but Harry's tractor with its bigger tires and field tread pushed the gravel and clay around with ease. A couple hours' work, and we were done. Together we made short work of what would have taken me most of the day by myself. A good friend is a rare gift. One who volunteers to give up his entire morning, drives half an hour and works for two more receiving nothing more than a cup of coffee and a thank you is priceless.