In all of our interpersonal relationships — especially in the family — we create an environment or a culture. Ideally, we create a culture of love, one where people have the experience they are loved and they matter, they are accepted for who they are, and they are forgiven.

But friendship entails more than warm feelings and personal sharing. Sustaining such relationships and fulfilling the expectations that are naturally a part of them requires real strength of character, especially if we are to persevere in them through the years. When we succeed in creating a culture of love, people have the experience of being truly united with each other. Whether it is with a friend, a spouse, or with God, it is the experience of intimacy. We naturally desire it because we were made for it.