I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants) Workbook by Amy Weatherly & Jess Johnston

Author:Amy Weatherly & Jess Johnston [Weatherly, Amy & Johnston, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperChristian Resources
Published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

CATCH YOUR BREATH

Such an idyllic vision we can paint for friendship, right? Nothing wrong with that. Sit with that dream-state you’ve written up before rushing to see what’s next. How does your version of friendship make you feel? What emotions are present right now?

DIVE DEEP

In our heart of hearts, we know what’s possible, where friendship is concerned. We’ve seen it and tasted it from time to time, so we know for sure that it’s out there. If we could just find it a little more often, right? If that magical state could be just a bit more predictable to us.

But that’s usually not the case. What we almost always find on the friendship front is a poor approximation of what it should be. Cattiness in high school bathrooms, anyone? Being marginalized because you bought the wrong jeans? Finding out you’re the subject of gossip? Being judged harshly for standing your ground? Having your friend group leave you off the invitation list? Being overlooked for a job you wanted because a friend wouldn’t serve as a reference for you?

Dig back through your own memory bank for two or three times when your vision for what friendship could be and the realities of what friendship had become for you were not at all aligned. What were the circumstances involved in each situation? How does each memory sit in your heart?

1. [Your Response Here]

2. [Your Response Here]

3. [Your Response Here]

These gaps in what we hope for in our friendships and what we’re actually experiencing day by day can feel impossible to bridge, can’t they? It’s agonizing to hold out hope for a reality that feels elusive—slippery—at best.

Can I tell you something? I’m sorry. Truly. I’m sorry for the pain you’ve known.

I’m sorry for the pain I’ve known as well. It just shouldn’t be this hard. And yet here is what I want to remind us both, now that we’re staring at the pain of our past: Yesterday’s pain can help us be a better friend today, if we’ll let it. Let’s look at how that works.

For starters, how would you put into three or four words the pain you’ve experienced when friendship didn’t go as planned? Would you describe that pain as the pain of being “ostracized” or the pain of “feeling left out”? Or maybe it was the pain that “gossip” brings or the pain caused by a friend’s “deceit.” Fill each of the boxes below with a single word or phrase.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.