One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes was a story in which three men, having discovered a time machine, successfully stole millions of dollars of gold and sent it forward into the future. They then sent themselves into the same future to secure the gold and be rich beyond their wildest dreams. The project went exactly as planned. The only trouble was when they arrived in the future, gold was no longer a valuable commodity and was, in fact, worthless. They had nothing of value and couldn’t return to their own time period. The story was well told and first introduced me to the awareness that gold wasn’t the most precious commodity to have.
What’s more valuable than gold, we may wonder? I don’t have to ponder that question long. Chief among the things that are more valuable than gold are our friendships, our relationships, and the shared experiences we have with our friends.
I have lost too many precious friends the last few years, and with each loss I am reminded how precious that friendship was. Friends can never be replaced. Friends are a thousand times more valuable than gold. I would give anything to be able to go back in time and tell my closest friends how precious they were to me. I have too often failed to take the opportunity to say to a close friend, “I love you.” Why are those words so hard? Why haven’t I told my dear friends how much I love them? Precious friendships are more valuable than gold, no question about it.
An important part of our friendships are our shared experiences. It is through shared experiences that we are able to connect at the deepest levels of human relationships. It is through shared experiences that we are able to bond in ways that can never be forgotten or left behind. When I think of the wonderful friends the Lord has blessed me with, I immediately begin recalling precious moments and experiences shared. All too often I am not aware of just how precious an experience is until it’s too late.
Our shared experiences don’t have to be profound or serious or deep, just genuine. As we grow older, our world grows smaller and smaller. As we get older our circle of friends grows smaller and smaller. As our world grows smaller, the opportunities for shared experiences diminish as well. The old saying, “Make new friends but keep the old, for one is silver and the other gold” is truer than we could know.
Take time to nurture your closest friendships. Be real. Be forgiving. Be honest. But most of all be aware, your friendships and your shared experiences are a thousand times more precious than gold. Let petty disagreements with your friends be forgotten. Let annoyances with your friends go. Gold may be precious, but it pales in comparison to the preciousness of your friendships. Keep those shared experiences happening. After all, friendships are more precious than gold. As I’ve lost too many precious friends over the years, we need to remember how precious the friends we have are. Take care of your friendships; they’re more precious than gold.