A FRIEND IN NEED OR A FRIEND INDEED

Every day comes with new opportunities, new challenges, new inspiration and new friends. With the advent of social media, it has become increasingly inevitable to become companionless. 

Every day we meet someone new either via Blackberry Messenger, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. Certain folks would add Instagram, Wechat, Facetime, 2go and Badoo to their connection paths. And when you add the female element to mix, it leaves you overwhelmed.

The intriguing part of friendship is that you might not be able to tell the motive of your new acquaintance or the impact they would have in your life. Some friendships are premeditated, others are accidental. Some will aim to improve you while others will come to run you down. 

Some friends are just there for the enjoyment, others will be there even at the most difficult periods. Some will leave you with lasting memories and others leave you with lasting scars. Some would end up as enemies while others will be end up as families.

In my life, I have met three major categories of friends; the friends that were in my life for a reason, the ones that were there for the season and friends that will be there with me for life. It was very important for me to identify the category that each friend fell into. This helped me to effectively manage my commitments and expectations. 

Each category of friend in my estimation deserved different levels of dedication as they don’t guarantee the same level of loyalty. I had to give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God. Because a day will come when I have to call on God, and I don’t expect Caesar to answer. 

Your time, money and emotions are three very valuable commodities in the friendship market. There is need to validate the friends that you are investing these valuables in. You have to invest wisely or be prepared to count your losses. If you don’t properly identify your friends and place them in their appropriate category, you would always be left disappointed. 

This is because you would often discover that you are giving priority to someone who was in your life for a reason whilst neglecting the person who would be there for you till the end. Some people are only loyal to you when they need you. They withdraw their loyalty as their needs change or desires grow beyond your capacity.

Sometimes you just have to accept that some people are merely your followers, not your friends. They give you this false sense of belonging, when in truth they don’t appreciate your value. For example, I know a friend who has been blogging for about three years now and I doubt if any of her friends are unaware. 

In this blogging business, you need all the support you can get to keep you going. Some of her friends appear indifferent, a few are just too familiar and others are patiently waiting for the day she will blow like Linda Ikeji. It’s funny but some of them say that to her face. These are the same friends who will come out tomorrow to tell the world how they all started from the bottom.

As long as you have one worthy friend, you can get through anything. The kind of friend that won’t get tired of you in any circumstance. Avoid the friend that try to judge you and draw closer to the one that embrace all your weaknesses. Always appreciate the friend that makes you smile

I am thankful for all the friends I have in my life, good and bad, past and present. They have all made me the person that I am today. But I am most grateful for the good friends who have kept me up. You are the reason I will die smiling, you are a friend indeed.

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