The school bell has rung, class is now in session

As we go through the years, people come and go, hobbies change, and preferences differ. This is fine because that is what life is about.

People come and go

In a perfect world, you meet a best friend and/or other friends in childhood and declare to be friends forever! We all know that rarely occurs. I do have a best friend from when I was five and another dear friend from when I was fifteen that I am still in contact with, and many others I have connected with in adulthood through church, work and civic organizations.

Friendship often dissolves when individuals no longer agree on fundamental principles. This is a natural occurrence because people change. Not to say people cannot be friends or be in relationships without thinking differently, but when it comes to certain aspects like morality, religion, and even politics; this could cause a friendship to deteriorate. Imagine there is a friendship where none of these issues pose as a problem; there is yet another way the friendship could drift apart. It could drift apart when one of the parties involved, begin to consistently trivialize the relationship.

A true friend cares about what’s going on in your life. A fake friend will routinely make their problems sound bigger. Be a true friend.

This can happen occasionally and the friendship will survive, but when it becomes a routine, your friendship will take a one way trip to Distanceville.

One may begin to notice the “Trivialize Monster” in small doses.

1. It can be as small as when you talk to your friend on the phone and notice that the conversation is extremely one-sided. This can occur at times, but when it becomes a routine, that is when there is cause for concern.
2. It could be after listening to a political speech, and/or discussing your views on corporal punishment, abortion or gay rights, that you began to notice how different you and your friend truly think, and how much you both do not see eye-to-eye.
3. It could be after a friend shares with you how someone has been repeatedly mistreating them, and how you know they deserve to be treated better. Sooner or later, your pleas will fall on deaf ears, and you will be seen as the problem.
4. It could be after hearing from multiple sources that your friend has said unkind things about you, and/or failed to stick up for you when they had the opportunity to have your back. A true friend knows your character and knows when they are hearing untrue things said about you. A situation like this, will usually prompt them to stick up for you. When this does not occur, it is safe to assume the friendship has ran its course.
5. It could be simply that you hardly hear from them anymore, and whenever you attempt to schedule a time to meet, they either ignore the question, or put you off.

When these situations start occurring, a simple conversation could possibly iron out the differences; otherwise, you may have to bid the friendship farewell. Comfort yourself by knowing, this is a natural part of life and remember the old adage,

We all have experienced having to part ways with a friend, but just know as long as there is no unforgiveness or ill-will, and you have a clear conscious, you are in a healthy place. I sum it up with this verses from the Bible,

The school bell has rung, class dismissed!