Many young people today are looking for a wife or husband. I strongly suggest that they put less emphasizes on physical attractions, and more on a "friend". I thank God for having sent me a true friend, my matushka.

Many times our lives seem to be empty and alone; but a friend fills the emptiness and loneliness we encounter. She's there to share troubled moments. She brings happiness and opens up a new world to live in. Life becomes a paradise on earth just knowing that you have found someone who truly cares, and is there for you whenever you need a shoulder to lean on. When hardships become unbearable, she's there to lend a helping hand with love and understanding.

This wonderful person doesn't have to be with me day and night in order to prove she cares and worries about me; it's the little things she does to bring joy into my life that matter. Every time I fall, she's there to help me up with a smile and say, "I knew you needed me, so I never left you. You were always on my mind." She fulfills my life by her understanding, forgiving and caring. It's such a beautiful and heavenly feeling to know you have someone who really cares about you and, most importantly, your salvation.

Protodeacon Serge Lukianov serves at St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Lakewood, New Jersey