A Friendly Appearance

Don't you just love those friends that seem to make an appearance only when they have a problem? Last week I received a phone call from someone I have not spoken with in quite a while. She called to inform me her relationship with her husband was in turmoil, and she was making plans to leave him. Basically she called me to let of some steam, ask my opinion and advice. I have known her for quite a few years now and I am accustomed to her occasional "I have problem phone calls." Quite honestly, I tend to her because she is a nice person who happens not to have many friends in her life.

I know the nice lonely girl story all to well. So I gave her my time, an ear and a little advice. You see, during my nice lonely girl days I did a lot of the same, I reach out to people at my lowest. But, when I felt everything was in control, I never bothered to see if maybe, just maybe someone else was in there lowest and needed a friend.

Eventually of course people catch on to this sort of behavior and just like the boy that cried wolf, you will some day have no one to reach out to when you are at the bottom of the pit.

During those days I did a lot wondering about why the things that were happening to me happened, why I was so misunderstood, why I was so lonely. After all I thought "do they not see what a nice girl I am?" Then one day during one of my divine moments it came to me. And I have to say I have been very fortunate with divine moments, I have had many. During that moment it dawned on me that perhaps, just perhaps if I would take the time to see what was happening to others on a regular basis and not just when I was in need, I would receive the same. Of course this did not start infiltrating my way of life immediately; I had to feel a genuine need to help others, be a friend, build concrete relationships, and offer companionship.

Today, I care about my friends, and I have friends that care about me, I take the time to pick up the phone a on a regular basis to call them and see how they are doing. When they are in need I am there for them and when I have a problem they seem to naturally appear there for me, gee I wonder why?

I firmly believe in the saying you "get back what you put out." Whether it is being a sister, brother, son, mother, daughter or a friend being there on a mutual basis shows care and brings more light to a way of life. When you do it and feel it with genuine concern and love in your heart, there is not anything in this world that compares.