The Negative Relationships

Error Friends          

Examples:

• Wife had an affair with best friend.
• People that have gone through divorce.
• Not being supported by best friend when going through transition with my wife.

These were friends that turned out and then turned on us.  They went from close to far (from inner circles #3 and #4 relationships to outer circles #5 and #6 relationships).         

I trusted them and they proved themselves unworthy of the trust. 

The shared vulnerability was negligible at best, negative at worst.

The Benefit of such Friendships

1. They Helps me understand and Being Real 

• If I don’t risk something I don’t gain anything or anything I do gain I don’t appreciate.
• If we never make ourselves vulnerable we will never find love. 
• Love is vulnerability. 
• Those relationships that have hurt us but have caused us to heal with scars of reminder.

1. They Helps Me Identify the Real Deal

• The mistaken trust became a place where I could recognize faithful trust. I can recognize what real trust is.
• Although our friendship failed it contributed to the understanding of successful relationships.
• It led to corrective connection.
• Mistakes in my life have made major contributions. As a matter of fact, trying things and failing have been the making of the most beneficial and secure things of my life. 
• Error friendship have helped me to identify the truth about meaningful relationship. 

The Positive Relationships

Era In Life Friends

Examples:

• Friends for different eras of my life.
• Elementary school
• High school
• College
• Business
• Milestones in life

Eternal causes didn’t prove to be lasting friendships.

Most of these people if not all I could be in contact with today and we would pick up where we left off, reminisce, and still be united in our spirit but we are not connected in our involvement.

We would have considered ourselves close #4 relationships if not even #3 relationships then.  Now we are #6 peripheral relationships.

There is grief in knowing this is happening and will happen. 

Era For Life Friends

Examples:

• Select few people that we have shared a big part of our life with.
• They have been there as we have gone through the many transitions of life.
• We have had lasting involvement in the good and bad and everything in between.
• We do pick up where we left off.
• We take the initiative to keep in touch often or from time to time.
• It takes two-way investment of energy, time and resources.

Era Beyond Life Friends 

Examples:

• Connecting in spirit.  Connecting for eternity whatever that might be.
• We, by being in association, find the better world that others who have lived out truth have left for us.
• We, by being in association, leave the world better than we found it by living out the truth that we have found.
• We realize the life that we live is much longer than the years that we live together.