Are We Still Friends?

 I Know It's Been A Minute.😊 

''Greater love has no one than this;that someone lay down their life for their friends.'' John 15:13

We human beings by nature are social beings. In our day to day lives apart from family members we interact with fellow human beings because none of us lives in an Island by themselves. 

Every stage and seasons of our lives we have interacted with human beings whom we classified as friends. And some friends became like family because of the strong bond that was created. Remember our childhood memories when we looked forward to going outside and play with our childhood friends. Or when we couldn't wait to share with them school or holiday stories or show off the Sunday/Christmas dresses. We Invited each other to our homes especially during our birthdays. And we thought they would always be there or we wouldn't meet other friends. But we were wrong. 

As we navigated through our different stages of schooling. Every School or Classroom stepped in we created bonds of friendship with different people regardless of tribe, denomination, family or socio-economic backgrounds. Most of the times we overlooked such things. We kept in touch with some others we lost touch as we navigated through this thing called life. But as they say its only mountains that do not meet. And so once in a while we meet in the streets during our every day hustles & bustles. We lost touch not because we didn't nurture our friendships/relationships but because the season simply had come to an end. Or they have already played the role they were to play in our lives.

 And sometimes we outgrow friendships which is okay. The season of that friendship comes to an end sometimes. Because each time we are evolving and every new phase of our lives attracts new friendships. But this doesn't mean we won't cherish the beautiful memories we created together. And when our friends are in need we will be there to stand with them.

I have a friend who once came to me disturb. Her campus friend had simply stopped communication. And she felt that she wasn't responding to the efforts of her reaching out. And I remember telling her that sometimes when we feel like we are making all the effort then it's time to let go. It was hard for because this is a friendship she had heavily invested on. She thought the friendship would last a lifetime. Like this was her go to person. Friendships are a two way traffic.  And It's okay when it comes to and end. 

Expectations is something that has led to many friendship to break. In life we go through different seasons. Some seasons can be bad & ugly and we have high expectations of our friends walking with us through every season of lives. We expect them to walk with us, hold our hands through the season. But sometimes our friends do not have the mental capacity to offer support. And we judge them silently not imagining they too may be needing our support more than we need their support.  

I remember when we were young we looked forward to going out just being outdoors spending time with friends as we laugh, eat, talk and just have a good time. But as we grow older have families our social lives tend to dwindle due to responsibilities. A good example is young mother whose primary focus is her newborn.

Life has also become busy and Stressful. We are all trying to make ends meet. And most of the time there is little or no time for socialization.

Unlike children, adult friendships are a bit complicated. All children think of is to play and have fun. Adults on the other hand want deep conversations or moral support as they navigate the different seasons of life. So as we grow older we definitely outgrow some of these friendships. 

So, let us cherish those friendships now. And learn to let go.

"Some friendships don’t end in storms, but in soft fading light—quiet goodbyes wrapped in time’s gentle retreat."