A friend loves you all the time. — Proverbs 17:17 NCV

Getting an invitation to anything is a special occasion. Whether it comes in a phone call, a letter, an e-mail, or smoke signals, the message is, “Your presence is requested.” The excitement is undeniable.

An invitation piques our curiosity and starts us imagining wonderful things. It doesn’t really matter if it’s Cinderella at the ball, a dinner at the White House, or Tuesday morning coffee with your neighbor. We love being invited. Even if we can’t attend, it feels good to have been invited.

Every friendship arises out of some kind of invitation. Inviting is active. Inviting says, “I was thinking about you, and I am requesting your presence.” Inviting says, “I have made time for you and me to celebrate.” Inviting makes a hopeful promise of good times.

To the party of friendship, you must bring a gift. You’ve been invited, remember? “Your presence is requested.” It would be far easier to bring a kitchen gadget. C. S. Lewis cautions us that we may act kindly, correctly, justly . . . and yet withhold the giving of ourselves, which is love. To offer a vulnerable nugget of your soul that has been mined from a deep, sometimes dark, place is more valuable than gold to your friend.

— Nicole Johnson

Excerpted from A Grand New Day © 2008 by Thomas Nelson. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.