True Friend

Friends
Always
In
The
Heart

As a child I just wanted a friend
A strong one who would have my back

A generous companion, who would comfort me in my lack

All I needed was one to understand;
A gentle touch, not ashamed to hold my hand

A loving soul to catch my tears inside a jar
A wise one who'd pull me back to centre,
When I went too far

A whisper and a silence when I'm frightened and alone
A defender like a lion, when I'm attacked by worldly clones

A friend to whom I'd share aloud the craziest of ideas
One who'd let me learn and grow, and not condemn throughout the years

A laughing soul, who'd celebrate my joys;
And join me in the party, when I dance and make some noise

A friend who wouldn't shut me down or deny our special bond
But I soon worked out that to expect a friend, like that, was "wrong"

Muhammad didn't like my music
And Buddha's laugh was dark and cold
Zoroaster's light had faded now
And Lao Tzu was too old

And so I froze like arctic ice and distilled a bitter flavour;
And gave up my pursuit for that faithful brother,
Until I learned about the Saviour

There was a time I cut my hand with glass, and shook it in a pact
But this mystery of a godlike man went way way way beyond that

Not only did he shed his blood from crown, sides, hands, and feet; he offered me his flesh and blood, saying, "Here, take and eat!"

And he too poured out his Spirit, deep into my empty cup

Said, "Gulp as much as you can hold; go on drink it up!"

No human gone done that before,
For a poor soul such as me
But sure as he came to my cry, he's never since left me

And I have been a sordid mate, quite difficult to get along
Yet his friendship has been true and pure:
A love that's made me strong

I don't know how else I would have coped, the times I've been to hell and back
I can't fathom how, despite the pain, my heart is still intact

Unless of course Jesus is real and this is not pretend
Surely, I have found in him an everlasting friend