A Bucket of Friendships

Lately I've been considering the friendships that I have with people in my life, and I realized that a couple of strong relationships that I had with friends have weakened over the past few months. I had to stop and think to myself, "Is there something I'm doing?" The answer was "yes." I was doing something. I was seeking out the truth, insight into myself, and a more fulfilling life. (I say was but I should be saying I am because I'm still on the same journey of truth and understanding.) And this journey led me to realize certain things about some of the relationships I'd formed with people.

I didn't want to realize these things at first; I wanted to ignore them and let these relationships continue to coexist with my internal exploration. But when I did try to keep them in a safe place, untouched by realization, I struggled to keep my footing on this new path I was choosing to take. These relationships were dispersing temptation by the bucket-full and usually came with a free ounce of "coolness" on the side. What I didn't recognize was how superficial and unhealthy those relationships were for me. They just proved to be distractors on my way to becoming a stronger and better person. 

The difficult part is understanding that your strong friendship with a person is passing. Trivial relationships were easier to say goodbye too. But I'm still not so sure that I know what's best in this situation. Should I attempt to mend our friendship? or just let it go like I might supposed to be doing? I think that any strong friendship has to come with acceptance first of all. Acceptance of who each other are as individuals; acceptance of each other's believes; and acceptance of the improvements we're each trying to make. How can someone accept all of your mistakes in the past but have no confidence in you when you're attempting to improve yourself? Again, I wanted to disregard this fact and to continue with what I'm doing. But this relationship was affecting me. Their apparent dislike for my new chosen path became an obvious hindrance in my journey. How am I supposed to improve myself and partake in this journey if my friends don't even think I can do it?

Of course, these things have been on my mind almost constantly lately, but it already seems as if God has sent a reply: he's been gradually building a support system for me that is based in faith. People who will respect me and my journey and who are enthusiastic about my seeking truth. Real, healthy relationships that I can learn from.