I come one way, they leave the other
But what can I do? Friendship can’t be forced.
We were warm when all was well. They were
Here when I was cool. Fancies and frills, now
Gone with the wind: I’m down, out and needy
Nobody wants me around. Nobody comes around.
I’m chasing, they’re running. I call, no answers.
I ache, no relief. I can’t help but wonder, what
Happened to the bond we shared not long ago:
Who was fooling who?

Food For Thought: We hear about fair-weather friends; around when the going is good and nowhere to be found when you truly need someone around. Life events like sieve, exposes us to circumstances that allow such people who choke our space to drift off so that room is made for genuine ones that are often left on outer fringes of our affections. God uses our circumstances to differentiate between the true and the false. Another thing I learned about this is that apart from those who are purely selfish and only out for themselves, friends move on for more reasons than things turning south for the other. It could be a change in attitude, which sometimes turn unbearable. Situations influence people to varying degrees. If the drowning person is geared to take you down, unwilling to face the truth or open their heart to relevant changes: you might not be in position to help. I recall a friend telling me one day about another relationship that had turned a sore, “If this person has become a pressure that gets in the way of your relationship with God, a drain to your peace of mind and joy, it might be time to move on.” We shouldn’t for the sake of our circumstances forget that others are battling personal issues too. We shouldn’t become insensitive and turn constant pressure points, taxing those who care about us. We shouldn’t dump our cares on another because they are there. However situations go for you, you can’t control what others do but you can manage yours: don’t get so lost in your world and demands that you cease to consider what others are going through.

Scripture: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2: 3.

Prayer: Dear Lord, in a world where people stream in and out, hunting their personal gains irrespective of who gets hurt, make me sensitive to what my friends are going through and help me be a rope of hope that draws them to safety, amen.