Friendship Messages and Quotes: What to Write to a Friend

Friendship messages do not need a holiday or a big occasion. A few honest lines about why someone matters to you will mean more than anything printed on the front of a card.

Below are messages for a best friend, a friend far away, an old friend and a friend going through a hard time, plus thank you messages, funny lines, friendship quotes with their sources and Bible verses about friendship.

Article contents

• How to Write a Just Because Card to a Friend
• Short Friendship Messages
• Thank You for Being My Friend Messages
• Messages for a Best Friend
• Long Distance Friendship Messages
• Messages for an Old Friend
• Encouragement Messages for a Friend
• Just Because Card Messages
• Funny Friendship Messages
• Friendship Quotes
• Bible Verses About Friendship
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Write a Just Because Card to a Friend

1. Start with why you are writing. A simple line such as "I was thinking about you today" is all the reason a card needs.
2. Mention one memory you share. A trip, a late night talk or an inside joke shows that you wrote the card for them and no one else.
3. Tell them what they mean to you. One or two plain sentences are enough, and specific words land better than big ones.
4. End with a plan. Suggest a phone call, a visit or a coffee date so the card leads to the next conversation.

Here is an example that puts those steps together: "Hi Meg, I drove past our old apartment today and laughed about the time we locked ourselves out in the snow. I am so glad you are still my person after all these years. Let's get coffee next week. Love, Tara"

Short Friendship Messages

• I am so glad you are my friend.
• Life is better with you in it.
• Few people make me as happy as you do.
• Thank you for always picking up the phone.
• I feel lucky to call you my friend.
• You make the good days better and the hard days lighter.
• You are one of my favorite people, and I wanted you to know it.
• Our friendship is one of the best things in my life.

Thank You for Being My Friend Messages

Use these to thank a friend for their friendship or for something specific they did. Naming the moment makes it personal.

• Thank you for being my friend. My life is fuller and happier because of you.
• Thank you for showing up for me again and again, without ever being asked.
• I do not say it enough, so I am writing it down. Thank you for being such a good friend.
• Thank you for listening, for laughing at my stories and for telling me the truth when I needed to hear it.
• You have been there for every big moment and a lot of small ones too. Thank you for all of it.
• Thank you for the meals, the rides, the late night calls and the steady friendship. I noticed every one.
• I appreciate you more than I can fit on this card. Thank you for being you.
• Your friendship has carried me through some hard seasons. I am so thankful for you.
• Thank you for celebrating my wins like they were your own.

Messages for a Best Friend

• You know my whole story and you stuck around anyway. I do not take that for granted.
• Thank you for being the first person I call with good news and bad news.
• You have seen me at my worst and you still save me a seat. That is real friendship.
• I hope you know how much better my life is because you are in it.
• No one makes me laugh the way you do. Thank you for being my person.
• You are the family I got to choose.
• Best friends are hard to find, and I am so glad I found you.
• Wherever life takes us, you will always be my best friend.

Long Distance Friendship Messages

• The miles do not change a thing. You are still the friend I think of first.
• I miss our walks and our long talks. This card is a hug in an envelope.
• We may live in different time zones, but you are never far from my mind.
• I am counting down the days until I can see you in person again.
• Distance is hard, but our friendship is worth every phone call.
• Some days I forget you moved away, and I almost text you to meet me for lunch.
• You are far away on the map and close by in every way that counts.
• Your new town is lucky to have you. I just wish it were closer to mine.

Messages for an Old Friend

• It has been too long, and I wanted you to know I still think of you often.
• Some friendships pick right back up no matter how long it has been. I think ours is one of them.
• I found an old photo of us today and had to send you a card.
• You were there for so many of my firsts. I am grateful for every one.
• Life got busy, but I never forgot you.
• Old friends remember the version of you that nobody else does. Thank you for remembering mine.
• Thank you for twenty years of friendship. I am looking forward to the next twenty.

Messages for Reconnecting With an Old Friend

If you have lost touch, keep the first card light. Say that you thought of them, share one memory and leave the door open.

• I know it has been a long time, but you came to mind today and I wanted to say hello.
• I was going through some old letters and found one from you. It made me smile, so I am writing back a few years late.
• I am sorry I let so much time pass. I would love to catch up whenever you are free.
• There is no pressure to write back. I just wanted you to know I think of you and our time together fondly.
• I miss our friendship. If you ever want to grab coffee, my number is still the same.
• You were a big part of some of my best years. I hope life has been good to you.

Encouragement Messages for a Friend

For a friend going through a hard stretch, keep the card short and let them know you are there.

• I am in your corner, today and every day after.
• You do not have to have it all figured out. I am here either way.
• You have gotten through hard things before, and you will get through this one too.
• No need to write back. You are on my mind, and I wanted you to know.
• Take it one step at a time. I will walk any of those steps with you.
• You are stronger than you feel right now.
• My phone is on, day or night. Call me anytime.
• I cannot fix this, but I can bring dinner, sit with you or just listen. Tell me which one you need.

For more ideas, see our thinking of you messages and words of encouragement.

Just Because Card Messages

• There is no occasion for this card. I just like you a lot.
• I saw this card and thought of you right away.
• Here is a little mail to brighten your mailbox.
• This is your reminder that someone thinks you are wonderful.
• I have nothing to report. I just miss you.
• You crossed my mind today, and that was reason enough to write.
• I am sending this card for no reason except that you are one of my favorite people.
• I hope this card makes an ordinary day a little better.

Funny Friendship Messages

• Thank you for being the friend who knows all my secrets and has not used them against me yet.
• We have been friends so long that I am pretty sure you are stuck with me now.
• You are the person I would call to help me move. That is the highest honor I can give.
• You are a rare friend, and I mean that. You have never once been on time.
• If we are ever in trouble, I will be the one saying "this was your idea."
• Thank you for laughing at my jokes, even the ones that were not funny.
• We are proof that you can stay friends with someone who has terrible taste in movies.
• I would share my fries with you, and I do not say that to just anyone.

Friendship Quotes

These quotes come from published essays, books and letters. Write one at the top of the card and add your own note under it.

• "The only way to have a friend is to be one." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "Happy is the house that shelters a friend!" (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "We have a great deal more kindness than is ever spoken." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship, 1841)
• "The language of Friendship is not words, but meanings." (Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849)
• "True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation." (George Washington, letter to Bushrod Washington, 1783)
• "Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and dividing of our grief." (Joseph Addison, The Spectator, No. 68, 1711, crediting Cicero)
• "Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." (L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908)
• "I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul rememb'ring my good friends." (William Shakespeare, Richard II)

Bible Verses About Friendship

For a friend who shares your faith, a verse at the top of the card says a lot in a few words. These verses are from the New International Version (NIV).

• "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." (Proverbs 17:17)
• "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24)
• "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)
• "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
• "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13)
• "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." (Romans 12:10)
• "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
• "I thank my God every time I remember you." (Philippians 1:3)
• "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Christian Messages for a Friend

• I thank God for you and for the gift of our friendship.
• You are an answer to prayers I did not even know I was praying.
• I am praying for you this week, and I am grateful that God put you in my life.
• Your faith has encouraged mine more times than I can count. Thank you, friend.
• Thank you for praying with me and for me. I do not take it lightly.
• I pray that God fills your home with peace and your days with good things.
• Proverbs talks about a friend who loves at all times, and that is exactly the friend you have been to me.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I write in a card to a friend?

Say why you are writing, mention a memory you share and tell them what their friendship means to you. Close with a plan to talk or get together.

Do I need a reason to send a friend a card?

No. A card with no occasion often means the most, because your friend knows you sent it only to say you care.

How do I reach out to an old friend after a long time?

Keep the first card short and warm. Say that you thought of them, share one good memory and let them know you would love to catch up. Skip the long apology for the gap.

What is a good Bible verse for a friend?

Proverbs 17:17 is a popular choice: "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." Philippians 1:3, "I thank my God every time I remember you," also works well.

Who said "The only way to have a friend is to be one"?

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote it in his 1841 essay Friendship. The full sentence reads "The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one."

Every Twigs Paper card is blank inside, so any of these friendship messages will fit. Our Butterfly Garden and Boho Rainbow sets each come with 12 cards and envelopes on 100% recycled paper. See more designs in our friendship and just because cards and our thinking of you cards.

For a birthday, see our birthday wishes for a friend. For a friend who needs support, read our thinking of you and encouragement messages, and for more ways to stay in touch, try our snail mail ideas.

More quotes for cards: gratitude quotes, dog quotes, cat quotes, national park and nature quotes and ocean and beach quotes.