Someone said that there are three things that the longer you have kept them, the better they will be : those are the violin, wine and friend.  I am not able to explain the reason for violin and wine well enough even though I am sure that's true.  But I would like to think more about the friendships we want to achieve through our lives.

True friendships are like a tree with deep roots that have stood the test of time.  Good friends don't need to get together that often to make sure their relationships are still alive, but they will prove their strong bonds when needed, like springtime when the old tree produce its new green leaves from their branches after a long, severe winter. 

I often try to find out what is the secret of this true friendship. Trusting, understanding, sharing, and many more factors I can think of, but recently I added one more thing to this list.  Accepting each other as we are based on the trust and understanding we share through time.
 
It is true we have better chances to know about people with time, but it doesn't guarantee that it will make a true friendship.  Knowing well is a good start. However, understanding and accepting are crucial next steps.  It means they know each others' good as well as bad sides in their lives and about their personalities and so on. Then they enjoy their bright sides together and encourage each other to improve their weak sides with sincere effort and sympathy. 

After joining the life of First Presbyterian Church, I truly hope that I can enjoy and share true friendship with people at this church from now on. I started getting to know people around me in the staff, musical groups and later the large congregation.  I thank those people who showed me their patience and welcoming gestures.  Hope I will give it back to the people who will join us in the life of this church in the future.