Just what we need....

I know that we all experience both good and bad things in our lives and sometimes you just need a friend to lean on.  How do you act and react when a friend is going through a difficult time and comes to you for a shoulder to cry on or a strong person to lean on?  What do you say to them?  For me, when a friend comes to me I want them to know and feel that I am there with unconditional love and support. 

You see, when a friend comes to me I believe that they want my support and don’t want me to preach to them.  I believe that they want my advice ONLY when they specifically ask for it.  I believe that they don’t want me to judge them for their decisions and that they mostly want me to shut up and listen and cheer them on.

So, why am I addressing this?  I have had friends who have gone through stuff, had my support and told me about people that said they would be there as support and all that happened was judgment.  In fact, I have been someone who just needed support without the judgment and preaching, but got everything I didn’t need.  I was amazed that the very people I thought would be judgmental were the most supportive and the ones I thought would be the most supportive were judgmental.  I don’t love those people any less than before, they just didn’t offer what I truly NEEDED.

I love each of my friends so very much!  I believe that sometimes we need to be reminded of these things, myself included for sure!  I just pray that we all remember these things when we are called upon to be the shoulder to cry on or the strong person to lean on!