Friendship Is A Sheltering Tree

Some years ago author Samuel Coleridge wrote a book called "Youth and Age" in which he reflected over his past and the strength of his younger years. One of the most moving lines in his entire book is the statement: "Friendship is a sheltering tree...".
How true...how terribly true! When the searing rays of adversity's sun burn their way into our day, there's nothing quite like a sheltering tree - a true friend - to give us relief in its cool shade. Its massive trunk of understanding gives security as its thick leaves of love wash our face and wipe our brow. Beneath its branches many discouraged souls have found rest.
Beneath whose branches are you refreshed today? Should I remind you that a real, genuine, deep, solid friend is exceedingly rare? Either you're still looking through the forest... or, like me, you're enjoying shade and shelter today beside your God-given tree.

- Don Cuff