MENDING A 'BROKEN' FRIENDSHIP

BY REBECCA KNOX

Someone once told me they thought the hardest challenges to heal involved relationships. I disagreed with this person at the time. I didn't understand how a mere conflict between people could cause too much of a problem. "God is good. We all live in Him. It's easy," I said to myself. While those spiritual ideas are true, I now understand more what that person was trying to say. I've also gained some perspective on how relationship problems can be healed through prayer.

Not long ago, my best friend and I had a falling out. The details could fill up these pages, but it involved lots of drama and hurt feelings over about three or four months' time. I think we both did and said some mean things, but I felt justified in my position. I felt she'd been neglecting our friendship, and I was angry at her attitude since we'd been such good friends for so long.

A couple of times we mumbled "I'm sorry" to one another at school and tried to maintain a sort of halfhearted friendship, but it was on such shaky soil. Finally, after an especially troubling weekend of arguing, I didn't see how we could possibly go on being friends.