Make new friends in the New Year

Friends bring sunshine and sparkle into our lives. Friends stick by us through "thick and thin." It has been said that friends are like postage stamps. They "see us through, even if they have to take a licking."

Let's make one of our New Year's resolutions to be that of making a new friend. "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).

Friends, whether young or old and all the way in between, are such great blessings. Make friends with neighbors. My neighbors around me are such good friends they seem like family. I love to make new friends. Each time I make one they are "keepers."

Friends enrich and enhance our lives. It would be a great loss without them.

I've made a list of concepts in making new friends:

Forgive.

Pursue peace.

Flee self-pity.

Guard your words.

Encourage others.

Be happy.

Reject negativity.

Be a good example.

Take a stand against wrong.

Always be thankful. Live one day at a time.

Weep with those who weep.

Sing, pray, rejoice.

Believe the best is yet to be.

Find something good in everything.

Smile.

Laugh.

Sing.

Let the past be just that...the past.

Have hope in spite of what the circumstances are.

Fill your days with meaning and purpose.

Refrain from criticizing and finding fault with others.

Treat everyone as if this might be the very last time you see him or her on this earth.

See every person as one of great worth because Jesus died for him or her.

Receive each new day as a gift and live that day as a gift to give back to God.

Live every day of this New Year so you will leave precious memories in the lives of others.

Be grateful, cheerful, helpful.

Overlook offenses.

Realize you have an "x" amount of time on earth. Make it count.

Lose yourself.

Greet everyone with a smile.

Be joyful.

Wake up!

See the wonder in nature and share it.

Happiness is found in being alive, a burst of enthusiasm for a butterfly, a smile of a child or running in the rain.

It isn't the years of your life but the life you put into your years.

Be thankful for things money cannot buy. Remember "you only get to keep what you give away."

Be happy for "the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

These principles help you make life long friends.

In making new friends, the Bible gives us many instances of the greatest friend known to man. The apostle Paul in Romans 8:38 and 39 state: "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So make a new friend. You will be blessed.

Happy New Year dear reader. May you be happy, healthy and prosperous. May this year be the very best year of your life.

Portales resident Joan Clayton is a retired teacher and published author. Her e-mail address is:[email protected]