by Judi Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

Are we “friends”?

Friend is a tricky word. I learned long ago, you can’t just rely on people. More so than often, they can be “friends” not friends.

I knew this girl, named Shelly, who quit talking to me when she found out I listened to music that wasn’t performed by Christian artists. When she heard that I watched movies. She sent me a youtube video that asked, at the end, if I knew where I was going when I died.

I began to understand that loneliness is better than having “friends” that don’t care about you at all. I’ve learned that I won’t put myself through that web again. Through the years, I’ve gained more self-respect than to keep doing that to myself. I’ve learned that I would rather be alone than to be surrounded in a group of people who don’t care about me or don’t like me for who I am.

It makes me wonder why I put my hand in the fire if I know I’m going to get too close and burn myself. That’s when God pulls me back out and lets me know that wasn’t such a hot idea. I know God doesn’t want that for me. He doesn’t want that for any of us. So why do we do it?

Because we want these “friends”. We don’t want to have to be alone. We don’t want to be the unpopular kid at school. Or the shy one at church youth group. But if you think you’re on your own in this, you’re not. God is still there. He always was. And He always will be.

Psalm 37:4 says “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” All we have to do is ask.

I know to choose my friends wisely, because if I don’t, I will get burned. And I won’t settle anymore. I won’t have my heart broken again. God can lead me to a friend who cares. I’ll put my trust in him to guide me to that person. No matter how long that takes.