Deja Vu

My mind is still fresh with dc's story yesterday. The freaky part is that it is all too familiar. Not that the story is familiar but the way which it affects me. It was only a year ago that another friend allowed me a peak into her world. It's all happening again with dc. I remember going through the same emotions. Flashes of our conversations are still fresh in my memory. Until today, a year and a half later, I still feel deeply for her. Perhaps because I have never immersed myself in another person's life as much I did hers. There were some hurdles to overcome but we hanged-on in spite of them. What we share is something that will always remain special to me. There is a certain sense of stability in our friendship now compared to the early days. It can be dangerous if I start taking that stability for granted. I pray I never will.

I don't know if I have the capacity to participate in something like that again. I recall the foolish mistakes I made due to my immaturity. It ended in a fierce spiritual battle within. I am not sure if I am ready to take on more. Not that it is a burden. Certainly not. Those were some of my happiest and most meaningful moments. It's just that, entering into another person's pain can be quite overwhelming at times and if we are not careful or developed enough in our character, the enemy can use it to distract and destroy us.

Our friends will not bid us come enter into their pain with them. We do that at our own risk. We might be rejected and hurt. But we might also experience one of life's greatest blessing - real friendship. Friendship that last not only a season but a lifetime.

I feel honored that dc is willing to share those dark secrets with me, someone she hardly know, especially when she knows I am a Christian and would not approve of certain lifestyle and relationships that she is in. I realize that we can love someone without approving of something we know is not right. We must extend grace and not be judgmental because all of us can be tempted the same way. Given the same circumstances, we might fall equally hard, if not worse.

"If you see another person sin openly, or commit a serious crime, you should not think of yourself as better, for you do not know how long you will be able to remain in good circumstances. We are all frail but you should think of no one as being frailer than yourself." - Thomas a.Kempis, The Imitaion of Christ (1427)

rk