Friends and what they mean to us

I once wrote in a piece, that "friendships are like batteries. Some last longer than others". Its about 20 minutes to 6 am and I'm up watching Fat Albert. They always talk about friendships on the show and today's earlier show wasn't any different. I will not go into specifics but suffice to say that sometimes your friends can put you in jacked up positions and then blame you for it. Friends are an interesting dynamic altogether. You are not necessarily bonded by blood but in some cases proximity. Social media is filled with people connecting with one another under the guise of "friendships". Real friendships are personal and because of that, they can be beneficial or hurtful. Toxic relationships often are the poster child between men and women. Yet, its friendships where most toxicity begins and originates. Think about your earliest friends. Are you still friends? I know that in my own personal life that I had many friends growing up but that circle dwindled over the course of time. You have to weigh and consider many things when making friends. Is this relationship beneficial? Can a friendship grow beyond its immediate connections. Friends that have access to you can do things to hurt you. Many people place barriers in their lives, just so they do not have invest time and energy into people. I personally believe in investing in people. However, everybody that I invest in does not necessarily graduate to friend status. A friend is made for adversity and too often its the friends that are being adverse. This generation calls them frienemies. Which is a ridiculous term. However, I do get the point. However, all the clichés in the world will not make up for the hurt that you feel when someone hurts. Don't get me wrong, sometimes friends mean well but only injure you in the process. Folks make a point to be your "leader" while they expect you to follow and go along with just anything. One thing about life, experiences separate us all. It is our commonality that should bring friends into our circles who are genuinely concerned about thoughtful. The highway of life goes both ways. You put in what you get out. The trouble starts when you expect people do for you tit for tat. Life and its circle just does not work like that. God blesses us when we give but He does not do it on our time table. You sew to expect a harvest. Yet, the harvest is for appointed time. Our friends can be a harvest but like any good farmer will tell you, you need good soil (heart), sunshine (good things), and rain (challenges) and good old fashion hard work (care for the heart) to produce good results. Your friends are the result of good vibrations and good thoughts and common struggles. Cherish them.