Friendships that Inspire: The story behind “What a friend” poem

Elton March

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)

We cannot overlook the impact of good or bad friends in our lives. The company we keep often shapes our aspirations, goals, ambitions, behaviours, and attitudes. The people we surround ourselves with influence our mindset and trajectory.

Consider this: if you spend a year in the company of a millionaire, it’s likely that you’ll develop a similar mindset. Likewise, if you are an ambitious individual but constantly surround yourself with people who lack self-confidence and motivation, their energy will eventually weigh you down. That’s the power of peer influence—both positive and negative. Your friends can push you to save and invest, leading to financial growth, or they can pressure you into making rushed life decisions, such as marrying before you’re ready, which could lead to endless challenges.

One thing is certain: we all need friends in this life. As the English proverb goes, “No man is an island.” Even the most driven individuals need good company to accelerate their success.

A friendship that inspired a poem

During my university years, I was fortunate to have an amazing circle of friends—some of whom became like family to me. I forged enduring bonds, based on trust, shared experiences, and meaningful conversations. The subject of my undergraduate friendships is a story for another day. Today, I want to focus on one particular friendship and its unexpected impact on my creativity.

Have you ever watched or listened to my poem “What a Friend”? If you haven’t, here’s the link—check it out “What a friend” (and don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for more content!). You might wonder how I came to write that poem.

I wrote “What a Friend” in early 2020, at a time when the world was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Universities had closed, and like every other student, I found myself stuck at home. In a moment of deep reflection, a conversation from my university days resurfaced in my mind. I recalled a discussion about the popular Christian hymnal “What a friend we have in Jesus”.

The Hymn That Sparked a Thought

Back in university, my friends and I often talked about life, faith, and spiritual well-being. One day—though I don’t recall the exact date—one of my friends, Kennedy Hereya, brought up his favourite hymnal, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” I was already familiar with the song, but that day, we dissected its meaning, stanza by stanza.

Ken emphasised two lines in the first stanza that stuck with me:

“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.”

At that moment, I didn’t realise how deeply those words would resonate with me. Months later, as I sat at home during the pandemic, reflecting on life’s uncertainties, these lyrics came back to me. That’s when I thought, why not write a poem about this?

Bringing the poem to life

The first step was finding the right music. I reached out to my friend, the late Loraine Somba B., asking if she had an instrumental or song version of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” She didn’t, but she went out of her way to find multiple versions and sent them to me.

With the hymn’s melody playing in my ears, I began writing. First, I wrote the poem in English—it was short but meaningful. Then, I decided to write another version in Chichewa, my native language. Since I loved both versions, I combined them for the first time in my poetry career. “What a Friend” became a bilingual poem, with alternating stanzas in Chichewa and English.

When I finally recorded and released the poem, I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback. People connected deeply with its message. Later, when I shot the video, the response was even greater. It was a humbling experience to see how a simple poem could touch so many hearts.

The Hidden Influence of a Friend

Today, I reveal a fact I have never shared before: my friend Ken never knew he had indirectly inspired me to write this poem. I never told him. Perhaps he will learn about it for the first time through this post (quite funny, right?).

The irony is that our conversations about that hymnal—discussions that seemed casual at the time—left a lasting impact on me. They shaped my thoughts, sparked my creativity, and led to the creation of a poem that resonated with many people.

Choose your friends wisely.

As we step into 2025, I encourage you to be intentional about your friendships. Build relationships that challenge you, inspire you, and push you toward greatness. Surround yourself with friends who help you grow spiritually, academically, socially, financially, and professionally. Choose friends who will stand by you in difficult times, just as you should for them.

Most importantly, seek friendship with “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” You will never be disappointed. You know who this friend is? Listen to the poem again “What a friend”

So, ask yourself:

Do your friends help you grow, or are they holding you back?

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube