Your Truest Friend

Think of the people you call your friends. I mean it, think for a moment about the people you call your really good, dear, best friends…..

What is it about them that makes their face pop up when you were asked to picture your dearest friend? It may be the longevity of your relationship, circumstances you both have survived together, common interests, or even common enemies. Somewhere in there are hours and hours and hours of conversations, experiences, ups and downs, highs and lows. Your best friend is most likely the person who has earned the right to bring opposition to the relationship, not always agreeing with everything you say or do. They have the power to help you see the REAL situation, not just the one you are emotionally entangled around…the truth you may or may not want to hear.

Opposition is true friendship…no kidding! Friendship and loyalty are not about complete agreement with unicorns and butterflies, rainbows and happy hearts fluttering all about. Your true friend, not the one you always wants to see, tells you the straight story, not holding back. They have earned the right to be strong, hard, honest and often help us crack the code on our current messy circumstances. You may not always want to see them because YOU KNOW they will not buy your lies or rationalizations and they will call you to accountability. They will tell you that your poop stinks. Ugh! They are the best and worst person to talk about when things are going haywire in your world.

We are not always ready for that conversation, for spending time with that friend. We know it may not go the way we want. Their honesty will snap us back into reality and encourage us to change what needs to be changed. They will cry with us, hold our hand, hug us, help us change that flat tire, they will buy our meal when our own wallet is empty, and they will fold our laundry when even that task seems insurmountable. And when the dust from our current life situations pass, they will call us to be a better version of ourselves moving forward. They know our worst and bring out our best. For this very special relationship to sustain, there must be reciprocity. We in turn will serve that same role in their lives when their dirty underwear needs to be washed.

Think again about your friends, the REAL friends. The ones who have been there for you in the darkness and the light…and will be there no matter what. Let today be the day you give them a shout to encourage them in whatever is going on in their world. Be that friend for them and let them serve you as well. We are a reflection of the people with whom we spend our lives, so have and be the friend someone thinks about when asked to picture their truest friend.