On friendship

I am beginning to realize how important friendships are to me. You know, those people you have met along the way and will always be a part of your life, no matter who else comes in it. Having been able to see friends over Christmas, I realized that I have a lot more of those friendships than I thought. I am grateful that I have friends I can share my opinion with, who may or may not take my advice, but don't think twice about the way I say things. They know me, they know my heart, and they know I'm not telling them something out of spite or meanness. And so they take my opinion and do what they will with it, but they don't ridicule it; they respect it. And they don't get mad at me for saying it. Those with whom I can be unabashedly honest with are few, and I love them. That kind of honesty and transparency takes time, effort, and not a few disagreements. You have to know it's okay to be who you are, because you are just that. You have to know that if you don't change your opinion on something, your friend is still your friend. You have to walk together long enough to know that walking together is something you do because you want to, because you know the effort is worth it, not because it's something you have to do.
At first, there is no vision of something bigger. All of a sudden, you look back and realize it's been 5, 8, 10 years since that first random meeting, whether you had mutual friends, or your dates decided to ditch you, or you were both going overseas. And you are thankful that God has allowed those people to come into your life and stay. As frustrating as they can be, you are equally frustrating. But that's only because you want to see them make good choices and grow as people. They want the same for you.