Everyone wants a friend that they can call at 2am for any reason at all and they know they'll be received well. Everyone wants to be that friend that someone can call at 2am. The struggle with most people is that they don't realize what it takes to actually be in a friendship like this. It takes vulnerability, dedication, and grace. Why did I pick those 3 traits? Because those are the things that allow us to bear ourselves completely with another person expecting acceptance and loyalty from them, while also being able to offer those same things in return.
You might look at this list as I did and say, "Oh yeah, I can do that!" but when reality comes knocking you find yourself wondering how in the world you managed to ever get yourself into this situation in the first place! It's a lot easier said than done for sure!
I recently have had the opportunity of building some new relationships with a lot of really great people! At first you have this euphoric honeymoon phase. You like all the same things, you harass each other in love, you go everywhere together. But not long after that you hit a sort of wall-like effect where everything just stops. You have nothing in common. Jokes cease to be funny and instead come across very hurtful. You wonder why you became friends in the first place. It's at this juncture that the friendship either prevails or bails.
So here's some questions...how do you know when it's a friendship worth fighting for? How do you decide when it's the right time to talk to that person about some things you see in their life that could be destroying them, but you're afraid it will come off the wrong way and that they'll get mad at you? How do you become true friends with someone? Can you find it in yourself to love the unloveable about someone? Can you keep opening yourself up when you just keep getting hurt?
I'm not really sure where I was going with all this except to just think out loud about some relationships around me that are getting messy and I'm trying to figure out exactly how to deal with that in the best way possible without creating more drama. Real relationships are messy. If you want to have a real relationship, you have to be willing to get messy, stay dedicated, be selfless, and love with grace and kindness. Until you come to that point, you will never have a truly successful relationship where both people feel loved and accepted and where you are both pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves possible.
I will probably have more thoughts on this later...cuz that's what small group is all about! ;-)
