Bravery When Friendship Hurts
Updated: May 5, 2021
By Becky Gonzalez
God's Brave Women - Becky's Story
It was my 30th birthday, and I was basking in the glow of my surprise party. Despite how difficult it is to surprise me (yep, I’m one of those people), my family and friends managed to pull it off.
At some point that evening, I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “I finally have the friends I’ve been looking for my whole life.” I even shared that out loud to a few friends I was sitting with at the time.
Friends that did life together, through the good and not-so-good times.
Friendships where the other person was in it with you no matter what.
Over the years leading up to that party, I’d experienced my fair share of relational heartache, specifically in the area of friendships. Having friends like the ones I had at that moment was a dream come true. Without even realizing it, I’d made friendship - and the friendships I had at my 30th birthday - the goal.
True friendship became a destination. A place I’d arrive to once I found the right friends, and once I’d learned how to be the right friend. I was devoted to the goal of friendship, some ideal that had turned into an unspoken expectation I carried into every relationship.