A Friend Like Me
I’m all about you knowing who you’re talking to, or in this case, whose blog you’re reading. I decided to compile a list of the top 10 things that describe me as a friend so you can know the essentials abut me. Enjoy!
I’ll make you laugh…most of the time. Laughter is my go-to for life, especially difficult times and situations that make me want to give up on, well, just about everything. I find laughter allows me to not take hardships so negatively and it helps me put nonsense into perspective.
I’ll never care if you talk behind my back. I know that is usually an action that others won’t tolerate, but I truly prefer it. I don’t like anyone coming to me with a list of woes, especially if that list is about me. I understand others’ needs to vent and I respect that, so please, go vent about me to someone else. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to feel it. I don’t want to try to make sense of it and try to process it. Just go talk behind my back.
I forgive easily and quickly. I don’t hold a grudge and I don’t like collecting proof of others’ wrongs, so I tend to forget what people have done to me. This makes forgiving them even easier because I can’t remember what I was upset about in the first place. I also forgive easily and quickly because it is part of my faith, part of what I believe, part of how I think the world was designed.
I’ll respect you even when you don’t respect me. When you decide to put me in my place or tell me something that you believe qualifies as honesty or truth, I will still respect you. I’ll respect you by listening to you even when I disagree. I’ll respect you by treating you nicely even when you are being hateful to me. And when it’s all done, I’ll respect you by hoping that our friendship can restart again one day.
I will apologize when I’m wrong. I don’t have an issue with being wrong and I will freely and willingly admit it. I won’t, however, apologize for how you receive something I did or said. You applied your own filter and that’s part of your accountability, not mine. I can only be accountable for what I actually did or said.
I’ll always pray for you. Once I know you, I will pray for you. Even if we aren’t hanging out as friends, even if you hurt me to the core, I will still pray for you. Forgiveness certainly helps to continue to hope for another person, petition the Lord to intervene, or stand in the gap for someone who is weak in their faith at the moment. Prayer aligns me with the heart of God, so I would never want my heart to be so hurt that I can’t connect to God. And I would never want you to be that hurt either, so I will pray for you.
I’ll never tell you “What Ifs”. When you are going through a rough patch and want to talk, I will not, under any circumstances, go over all the possible, terrible, tragic outcomes that might occur. I will not treat your pain like an opportunity to brainstorm with intellectual curiosity like I’m solving a jigsaw puzzle and trying out each piece to see if it fits. I know that every piece on the table is an emotion and that it hurts, so I won’t be touching on all of those pieces of you with flagrant obtuseness for your feelings.
I’ll always see and hear you. I’ll pay attention to you. If you are talking, I’m listening. If you are there, I’ll say, “Hi!” to you. I’m not ever going to ignore or be too busy for you. I may not always be reaching out to you, but I’ll make time to see and hear you when you need me.
I’ll always remind you that you are better than you think and worth more. When you start feeling overwhelmed and want to settle, I’ll remind you that you don’t ever need to settle for less. I’ll tell you that whatever bad situation that occurred isn’t a reflection of who you are. I’ll always be calling out the best version of you and reminding you of your true identity, especially when you aren’t acting like your normal self. I’ll be there to remind you that you are better than this moment or this feeling and worth more than what you think.
I’ll always be fancy. I’ll always show up looking polished and lovely. You can invite me anywhere and I’ll never be under dressed or disheveled looking. If we go to lunch, I’ll put effort in to arrive all pulled together and fancy. If that is going to annoy you or make you question yourself in a negative way, then maybe I’m not the friend for you. If that is going to annoy you or make you question me about my appearance and attire, then I am for sure not the friend for you. I do like to be fancy, but that doesn’t make me shallow or judgmental about how others dress or what they deem appropriate for being in public.
