{"id":14790,"date":"2026-03-10T10:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T05:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:58:11","slug":"the-sacred-gift-of-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A dear and precious friend of mine was very, very sick about seven years ago and it appeared as if she might soon die. She had suffered on and off for years with stomach ulcers and this time it was more than serious. Surgery removed a large part of the ulcerated portion of her stomach and her recovery was difficult. The nausea she had suffered for so long reared its ugly and unrelenting head, and she received no relief from any medication.<\/p>\n<p>Needless to say she was unable to eat or drink much at all and she lost a great deal of weight, which she could ill afford to lose, getting thinner and thinner by the day. Her spirits were tested on a daily basis, as she wondered: Can I get well? Is it worth it to get well? She begged me to ask her friends to all pray for her but not to visit. She had no energy left and even speaking was a struggle.<\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ada4f91 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ada4f91\" data-element_type=\"container\" id=\"home-banner-stn\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72e6e8eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72e6e8eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Community Newsletter<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-261bcec elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"261bcec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get More Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9787b46 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget\" data-id=\"9787b46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" id=\"front-banner-signup\" data-widget_type=\"wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FORM STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        #nf-form-5-cont {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    border-radius:35px;\n-webkit-border-radius:35px;                    }\n    <\/style>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FIELDS STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap {\n                                            margin:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                            border-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    margin-bottom:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap {\n                                    width:120px;\n                            }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                                            width:120px;\n                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field:hover {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                    }\n    <\/style>\n<p>        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded--><br \/>\n        <script>var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id='5';form.settings={\"objectType\":\"Form Setting\",\"editActive\":true,\"title\":\"Sign up for Newsletter\",\"show_title\":0,\"allow_public_link\":0,\"embed_form\":\"\",\"clear_complete\":0,\"hide_complete\":0,\"default_label_pos\":\"above\",\"wrapper_class\":\"master-signup-form-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"master-signup-form\",\"key\":\"\",\"add_submit\":0,\"currency\":\"\",\"unique_field_error\":\"A form with this value has already been submitted.\",\"logged_in\":false,\"not_logged_in_msg\":\"\",\"sub_limit_msg\":\"The form has reached its submission limit.\",\"calculations\":[],\"container_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"title_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"formContentData\":[{\"order\":1,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"master_signup_email\"],\"width\":66},{\"order\":1,\"fields\":[\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\"],\"width\":34}]}],\"changeEmailErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid email address!\",\"changeDateErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid date!\",\"confirmFieldErrorMsg\":\"These fields must match!\",\"fieldNumberNumMinError\":\"Number Min Error\",\"fieldNumberNumMaxError\":\"Number Max Error\",\"fieldNumberIncrementBy\":\"Please increment by \",\"formErrorsCorrectErrors\":\"Please correct errors before submitting this form.\",\"validateRequiredField\":\"This is a required field.\",\"honeypotHoneypotError\":\"Honeypot Error\",\"fieldsMarkedRequired\":\"Fields marked with an <span class=\"ninja-forms-req-symbol\">*<\/span> are required\",\"container_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"container_styles_border\":\"\",\"container_styles_height\":\"\",\"container_styles_margin\":\"\",\"container_styles_padding\":\"\",\"container_styles_float\":\"\",\"container_styles_advanced\":\"border-radius:35px;n-webkit-border-radius:35px;\",\"title_styles_border\":\"\",\"title_styles_height\":\"\",\"title_styles_width\":\"\",\"title_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"title_styles_margin\":\"\",\"title_styles_padding\":\"\",\"title_styles_float\":\"\",\"row_styles_border\":\"\",\"row_styles_width\":\"\",\"row_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row_styles_padding\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_border\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_height\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_width\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_padding\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_height\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"export_settings\":[],\"form_title_heading_level\":\"3\",\"ninjaForms\":\"Ninja Forms\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink\":\"Insert Link\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia\":\"Insert Media\",\"fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile\":\"Select a file\",\"formHoneypot\":\"If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress\":\"File Upload in Progress.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload\":\"FILE UPLOAD\",\"currencySymbol\":\"&#36;\",\"thousands_sep\":\",\",\"decimal_point\":\".\",\"siteLocale\":\"en_US\",\"dateFormat\":\"m\/d\/Y\",\"startOfWeek\":\"1\",\"of\":\"of\",\"previousMonth\":\"Previous Month\",\"nextMonth\":\"Next Month\",\"months\":[\"January\",\"February\",\"March\",\"April\",\"May\",\"June\",\"July\",\"August\",\"September\",\"October\",\"November\",\"December\"],\"monthsShort\":[\"Jan\",\"Feb\",\"Mar\",\"Apr\",\"May\",\"Jun\",\"Jul\",\"Aug\",\"Sep\",\"Oct\",\"Nov\",\"Dec\"],\"weekdays\":[\"Sunday\",\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\"],\"weekdaysShort\":[\"Sun\",\"Mon\",\"Tue\",\"Wed\",\"Thu\",\"Fri\",\"Sat\"],\"weekdaysMin\":[\"Su\",\"Mo\",\"Tu\",\"We\",\"Th\",\"Fr\",\"Sa\"],\"recaptchaConsentMissing\":\"reCaptcha validation couldn&#039;t load.\",\"recaptchaMissingCookie\":\"reCaptcha v3 validation couldn&#039;t load the cookie needed to submit the form.\",\"recaptchaConsentEvent\":\"Accept reCaptcha cookies before sending the form.\",\"currency_symbol\":\"\",\"beforeForm\":\"\",\"beforeFields\":\"\",\"afterFields\":\"\",\"afterForm\":\"\"};form.fields=[{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":1,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Email\",\"type\":\"email\",\"key\":\"master_signup_email\",\"label_pos\":\"hidden\",\"required\":1,\"default\":\"\",\"placeholder\":\"@Your email\",\"container_class\":\"master-email-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"admin_label\":\"master_signup_email\",\"help_text\":\"\",\"custom_name_attribute\":\"email\",\"personally_identifiable\":1,\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":0,\"label_styles_padding\":0,\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"cellcid\":\"c4722\",\"value\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"margin:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_border-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_advanced\":\"margin-bottom:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"manual_key\":true,\"id\":27,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"parentType\":\"email\",\"element_templates\":[\"email\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":2,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Subscribe Now\",\"type\":\"submit\",\"cellcid\":\"c4725\",\"processing_label\":\"Processing\",\"container_class\":\"\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"key\":\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":120,\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":120,\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"submit_element_hover_styles_border\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_width\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_margin\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_padding\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_float\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"id\":28,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"textbox\",\"element_templates\":[\"submit\",\"button\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"}];nfForms.push(form);<\/script><br \/>\n                <script id=\"nf-tmpl-cell\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-fields><\/nf-fields>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<p>        <script id=\"nf-tmpl-row\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-cells><\/nf-cells>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>One night I was sitting in the chair next to her bed with my head resting beside her. When she made a move, I sat up. She weakly leaned forward, looking me straight in the eye, and taking a tight grip on my shirt collar she said, \u201cTrudy am I supposed to go on now or am I supposed to stay? What am I supposed to do?\u201d She looked as close to death as anyone I have ever been with who did not die.<\/p>\n<p>Pale, frail, weak with no energy left, she said she felt like she was right on the edge of having to let go and she simply wanted to know if I thought this was her time. Nose to nose, we sat just looking at each other while I thought about her importance to me, her many other friends and her family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think this is your time,\u201d I answered with tears rolling down both of our faces. \u201cWe still have lessons to learn, things to do and places to go.\u201d We laughed and cried together for a moment, and then she lay back down and fell asleep.<\/p>\n<p>Slowly but surely she recovered, over a period of months, and I thank God every day that she stayed\u2014she still had so much life and love in her and has made a difference to the world around her every day since. Friendship is something God arranges for his own reasons; it is a sacred gift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A dear and precious friend of mine was very, very sick about seven years ago and it appeared as if she might soon die. She had suffered on and off for years with stomach ulcers and this time it was more than serious. Surgery removed a large part of the ulcerated portion of her stomach [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":26099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[165],"ppma_author":[479],"class_list":["post-14790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-after-death","tag-life-after-death"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Sacred Gift of Friendship - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sacred Gift of Friendship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A dear and precious friend of mine was very, very sick about seven years ago and it appeared as if she might soon die. She had suffered on and off for years with stomach ulcers and this time it was more than serious. Surgery removed a large part of the ulcerated portion of her stomach [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Trudy Harris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Trudy Harris\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4ea868ed7cac5d43b7a6804cd3691a3d\"},\"headline\":\"The Sacred Gift of Friendship\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Life After Death\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Life After Death\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Sacred Gift of Friendship - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg\",\"width\":438,\"height\":315},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Angels and Miracles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Life After Death\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/angels-and-miracles\\\/life-after-death\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The Sacred Gift of Friendship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4ea868ed7cac5d43b7a6804cd3691a3d\",\"name\":\"Trudy Harris\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g39737f65d2161de555f83fab475ec14f\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Trudy Harris\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/trudy-harris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship","og_description":"A dear and precious friend of mine was very, very sick about seven years ago and it appeared as if she might soon die. She had suffered on and off for years with stomach ulcers and this time it was more than serious. Surgery removed a large part of the ulcerated portion of her stomach [&hellip;]","og_url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":438,"height":315,"url":"http:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Trudy Harris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/"},"author":{"name":"Trudy Harris","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/4ea868ed7cac5d43b7a6804cd3691a3d"},"headline":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship","datePublished":"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/"},"wordCount":437,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg","keywords":["Life After Death"],"articleSection":["Life After Death"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/","url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/","name":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-10T10:39:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T05:58:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/marquee_trudyharris_14-1.jpg","width":438,"height":315},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/the-sacred-gift-of-friendship\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Angels and Miracles","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Life After Death","item":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/angels-and-miracles\/life-after-death\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The Sacred Gift of Friendship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/4ea868ed7cac5d43b7a6804cd3691a3d","name":"Trudy Harris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g39737f65d2161de555f83fab475ec14f","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2cfd272cbd4eecac38c83b83e46fe86e07b61005a8507d1cc79f88055271f21e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"Trudy Harris"},"url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/author\/trudy-harris\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":479,"user_id":139,"is_guest":0,"slug":"trudy-harris","display_name":"Trudy Harris","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14790"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=14790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}