Friend

so i made a pretty big decision for myself this week - one that involved letting someone go that i cared very much for.

sometimes in life we keep people around because they have become such a staple in our life when in all reality they're doing us no good. this is what happened to me.

it was time to let this person go - and it was unfortunate and it hurt a lot but for me, for right now it is impossible for us to be the kind of friends we have been.

maybe someday in the future we'll work it out.

i have been so wholeheartedly trying to be the best friend i can be lately and i've really found an awesome verse to help me remember the call of Jesus to do this:

"Love from the center of who you are, don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil, hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply, practice playing second fiddle." - Romans 12: 9-10

there is a direct instance of this in my life that i can think of recently.

a friend of mine has been upset lately - over the bickering of another friend and myself because we unfairly put her in the middle. both of us realized the terrible mistake we made and both of us, with little thought of the consequences, volunteered to step out of the picture for a while.

we were both trying to play second fiddle. both trying to care for the others in the situation. those are true friends.

i think it is acts such as these who reveal our true selves. we need to lose the mask - stop hiding behind what society has built us up to be and rather be the people whom God has created us to be - living breathing Christians.

i have seen this a lot lately in myself. i talked about it in my last post. i'm hiding behind a popularity mask or a "cool" mask or something. i don't know why it matters so much - to fit in, but it controls a lot of who i am and the way i act.

i want to rip it off but it's a slow process where i can only peel back so much at a time.

here are a list of things to do that come from living a life of genuine love, which is most certainly what i want to be doing:

~love from the center of who you are; don't fake it.

~run from evil and hold on to good.

~be a good friend who loves deeply.

~practice playing second fiddle.

~don't quit in hard times but pray harder.

~help the needy.

~bless your enemies.

~laugh with others when they are happy.

~share tears when someone is down.

~get along with others.

~don't hit back.

~discover the beauty in everyone.

i read something that made me feel both good and bad. studies have shown that teenagers have never been better off economically (and that my prove to be going downhill with the current state of things) but are worse off than ever emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally.

good - because i know i'm not alone.

bad - because i'm not the only one suffering.

i don't have a huge suggestion or solution to this problem but i do have this verse from Peter which gives us a good reason to live and how to do so:

"So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you, he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; He is most careful with you." -1 Peter 5: 6-7