We are blessed to have the friends we have because they make us better

We surround ourselves with all types of people, don't we?

Some friends are warm and fuzzy, others are rather stand-offish until they warm up a bit . . . shy friends, bold friends, loud friends, even obnoxious friends . . . Some people who call themselves friends but never seem to come through when friends are needed. Fair weather friends.

My friends saved my life, so I embrace them.

But sometimes as we go through life we see that some really aren't friends at all . . .  They begin to suck the strength out of us, so instead of standing tall and strong, we begin making decisions based not on what's good for us and good for our overall core group, but all the while hoping that he or she will change, become a bit more of a giver . . .

"They can meet me half way, can't they?" Turns out some just can't. Their words are often the right words, but their actions never are. You find they try to manipulate gatherings and get-togethers and maybe even don’t want to share time with one or more of your other friends at a dinner out. “Oh I don’t like that place, why don’t we go here?” . . . or  . . . “Sarah’s coming? . . . Oh.” Always planting a negative seed of one sort or another.

After a while of hoping, discouragement sets in, we begin to lose our strength because we are spending so much time worrying about this one person that all else begins to fall by the wayside. We cling and hope, wishing for the better times that have long since passed. A time when maybe we didn't see as clearly as we do now. A time when we were stronger than we are now. We fall to a knee, blood draining from us from our wounds . . .

The battlefield seems to move in slow motion around us. We feel lost.

The words of the taker screech through our heads. We hesitate . . . but know now we've hesitated too long, and calling on our strength, we mortally wound the taker. We're damaged and sad, but we rise to our feet and feel the freeness . . .

We weave in and out of friendships. The dynamic changes. Friends move away, get married, find new lives . . . Though sometimes friends just disappear and we have no clue as to why. Oh well. Their loss. . . . Ebb and flow is a natural process.

The taker, though, seems to just hang on, tries to soothe us, the words perfect . . . But we know now the words are false, and our sword pierces the taker's heart. We feel a pain in ours, but we know it will heal and we're stronger now . . . We step away . . . and eventually the friend steps away and the distance is obvious. Sometimes we need to do what is best for us. We are, after all, surrounded by those who encourage us, make us better and share a closeness with us that nothing can take away. But then there are those who, for whatever reason, choose not to be a part of our lives any longer, who decide what they want is more important than what everyone else wants . . .

We have all had people in and out of our lives like that. Think of the hoards of friends and hangers on we had in high school and college.

We raise our blood-soaked sword to the sky as our friends rally around us . . .  They make us stronger. They protect us. They lift us up. They help us endure. And they are there with us . . . always. They love us, scars and all. We're older and wiser now, better focused on true friendships.

We'll live because we we are more loved . . .  And our friends saved us.