True Friends

Friends come and friends go,

but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Proverbs 18:24

The place: the northern mountains of Albania.

 The time: May of 2007.

Villagers in the northwestern city of Patok captured a wolf; one of them - a fellow known to be an evil, selfish man - put him in a pen.  To feed the wolf, he decided to use "live food" - an old donkey who had been exploited by his owner for years and was now considered worthless.  So he pushed the donkey into the pen with the wolf, and waited to see the gruesome "show."

What happened next?  Certainly not a slaughter!  Somehow the titles of predator and prey were meaningless to these two animals, and they instantly took the stance of protecting each other - becoming friends, if you will, as evidenced by the photo above. 

The story of this amazing companionship quickly became public, and thousands of people petitioned the Albanian government to set the two animals free.  Albanian television covered the story, and under pressure from the public, the animals were finally released.  The donkey was moved to green pastureland and the wolf was released into the wild.  As befits a great story about two good friends, the wolf has been known to drop by the pasture to visit his old buddy.

A true friend is one of the greatest blessings of life.   Take a moment today and let a friend know how much they mean to you.

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We are pilgrims on a journey,

We’re together on this road.

We are here to help each other

Walk the mile and bear the load.

The Faith We Sing, No. 2222