You ever have a conversation and leave it feeling spent?
The other person just bombarded you with their issues. Any word you had to offer about anything was immediately turned into another springboard for extended thoughts from that other person. They wittered on for a considerable period of time and at the end of it they even ‘joke’ about how they’ve been going on and then saying they have to rush.
There you are feeling spent. Spent, even though you’d hardly expended any energy other than what it took to absorb and comprehend all that the other person dumped on you.
On the one hand, you don’t want to be selfish. You don’t want to behave like that other person and look for someone to dump all your issues on and express the height of being self-absorbed. You don’t want to do that. And on the other hand, you don’t think it’s really in your best interests to just be a dumping ground for the life and times of that other person.
That’s why it’s refreshing and so helpful to be in the kind relationship where there’s give and take. There’s an understanding of when someone needs to express and when to just listen to the other person. This is all done on purpose. This is done with the intention of offering the necessary support for the other person. Mutual desire to build each other in character to being beautifully human.
That commitment to supporting each other in life is so valuable. Those times when you were struggling with those debts and relationships issues and that friend was there listening, encouraging, reminding and offering counsel only when necessary. Those times when they were going through anxiety over the interview for the new job and your were there to help them practice for it and reassure them that they would do well. That time when they were saving for the deposit on the house and were just short in their funds and you had no problem helping out when they mentioned it. That time when they shared how they found it difficult to understand what was going on in the Bible and you were around to go through it along with them and they developed a greater appreciation as a result.
It’s why you find this kind of relationship so beneficial. It’s not just two-way sharing in a mutual appreciation kind of way. It’s that heartfelt drive to see each other succeed in life and overcome hurdles and see setbacks as set ups to success.
It’s certainly a lot better than having to be spent by that other person.
(Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 