Friendships

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

I been thinking a lot about my friends lately and how much I love my friends. I don't use the L word very much because I consider words to be sacred and I really mean what I say. That's why I don't use profane words unless I am really really sad or angry but that's hardly the case for me I think (ask my friends :). So, I was pondering about what friendship means to me and came up with this. Friendship means love, respect, caring, compassion, kindness, patience, trust and other positive attributes such as loyalty and honesty. Friendship can also mean drama and conflict resolution whether through arguments and compromises. Friendship does not mean taking advantage of the other person or just being nice to that person. So with that said, I realized that I have three levels of friendship and then another category for acquaintances. To be acquaintance to me, it means that I know this person through friend or just met them once or twice but I probably won't see them for a long time or for that matter never again. Also, this is where most of my professors or co-workers would be if they are in good terms with me but I don't contact them or vice versa unless otherwise. Then there's the friendship level of being acquaintance friend who I meet at a event of some kind or through a friend who I will befriend and be in social network website friend but that's the extent of the friendship. The next level is being a friend who I may hang out once or twice; however, due to circumstances such as distance and/or other reasons we may not hang out much. At this level, I will put the effort to hang out with this friend or make plans so that we can go the next level which is being a good or a best friend. In this level, a good friend is one  that I want to hang out and spend time more;however, due to scheduling conflict we may hang out once a month or once every year. Then there's my best friends who I hang out consistently more than once a month and be in communication as much as possible. I make the most effort to spend time with my best friends and try to be flexible as possible to hang out or talk on the phone. I consider my best friends like a family and I hope they think of me that way too. So with this said, I do have my limits on how much I make the effort toward a friendship. I will give it my best effort to be friends with someone but there are times when I will put less effort when the other person does not make the effort to be friends with me. I would love to spend time with all my friends; however, due to scheduling or some other circumstances, somehow it doesn't happen the way I want. So, I have a bad experience with being friends with boys (college age guys) and I am now very cautious about being friends with guys in general. The bad experience involved two guys who misunderstood my intention of friendship and thought I wanted a romantic friendship when I did not want that kind of relationship at all! It's resolved now and I think I am friends with these guys but these experiences really hurt my feelings. I don't know if most people know but I am traditional when it comes to being in a relationship. I want the guy to pursue me not the other way around. I am old-fashioned I guess but I think man to take charge and pursue the woman he is interested to be in a relationship. Okay, I know it's the turn of the century where it's okay for woman to initiate and pursue but really I rather have the man be the pursuer. That's my thoughts though and you don't have to agree. Back to the topic of friendship, so this reminded me that God wants to be friend with me and it is crucial that I spend time with Him each day. I love spending time with God and each day He teaches me something new through His Word, the Bible. These are my thoughts about friendship and if you would like to comment, please do. What does friendship mean to you? Thanks for reading!