Tres Amigos

 “I have got to get younger friends”...

I said to a group who were playing games on a cold wintery night with Cathy and me. Three couples had gathered to eat a meal together and then talk as we spent time indoors watching the anticipated blizzard start to pile up the snow.

 

Based upon the conversation we were having on health issues and aches and pains, I realized that either I’m officially old or I need new friends, because all of my friends are old (sort of…because some of my friends are younger and we LOVE hanging with them as well).

 

After exclaiming again my need for younger friends, I looked at Cathy and said; “We have officially become one of those older couples that we have observed over the years at church…one of those couples who do everything together as often as they can.”

 

And I realized that this was actually a very good thing that was to be treasured and highly valued; something which I had envied in the older couples I had seen it in at church.

 

C.S. Lewis said; “Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”

 

In our case, all of us have similar likes and dislikes. All of us like spontaneously getting together for a meal or to watch a play.

 

Both couples spend time with Cathy and I and our families up at our cabin on the Fourth of July. All three couples (“Tres parejas”) spend every Super Bowl Sunday together watching the game and eating way too much food. All six of us attend a weekly Bible Study together in our home.

 

The women in the group (“Tres Mujeres”) LOVE to go out and eat and make crafts and talk and spend time together doing whatever else comes to mind. And BOTH of the women are a good sounding board for my wife and BOTH are women I trust also have Cathy’s and my best interest in mind.

 

The men in the group, (“Tres Amigos”), enjoy each other’s company as well. All of us like great coffee and superb food.

All three of us share our struggles and pray for each other and encourage each other.

 

Both men I see as trusted comrades with whom I can share my weaknesses and discouragements. Both men are on ‘speed-dial’ on my phone so that I can send a text for a prayer request or to share some areas of accountability.

 

Both will tell me what I need to hear; not flattery. This is helpful because then when they say something to me that is encouraging, I know that they are telling me the truth.

 

Both have encouraged me as an artist, husband, father, teacher, pastor, and friend to keep doing what I was called and created to do.

 

Proverbs 20:6 “Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?”

 

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”

 

Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12 "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triples-braided cord is not easily broken."

I am truly grateful to be a member of the Tres Amigos.

All Scripture is from New Living Translation (NLT)  Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.