friendships

  When I was growing up, I used to complain to my parents about not having any friends – it was partly true, because I wasn’t a very friendly person.  Nevertheless, my parents would always encourage me that I had lots of friends & they were always very affirming on this topic.  Here are some other pearls of wisdom they taught  me in relation to friendships:

• diversity is good – its good to have lots of different kinds of friends:  smart, funny, healthy, beautiful, chubby, witty, deep, seasonal, insightful, superficial, . . . . .   Diversity is the spice of life!
• in order to have friends, we must be friendly:  smile, be forgiving, generous, seeking to understand
• be more concerned about being interested rather than interesting:  listening can be a timeless gift
• a friendship isn’t merely about what you can get out of the relationship, but also what you can give
• don’t be disappointed because someone is unable to give something you want in a friendship – maybe they don’t have that skill set or ability, just like you also have some shortcomings
• give the benefit of the doubt:  don’t assign malicious intent
• no one person can be your everything in life – this expectation is unhealthy & ultimately idolatrous
• be the friend you would like to have 🙂
• forgive, forgive, forgive & be prepared to continue forgiving