Just Moms

I’ve been having a repeating conversation with my daughter that goes like this…. Me: Faith, what’s wrong?
Faith: I’m bored.
Me: Well, why don’t you call ________?
Faith: {sigh} Why should I have to call? Why can’t they call me?
Me: Sometimes people don’t like to talk on the phone. But you can email them at least.
Faith: I do, but they don’t respond.
Me: Well, then you need to send one anyway.
Faith: I try, but there’s nothing to talk about.
Me: Well, find something to talk about.
Faith: I’ve tried.
Me: Well, you are a 1/4 and ______ is a 1/3. You are both different numbers but you have a common denminator – 12!
Faith: What does that have to do with anything? Ok, you get the idea. LOL I can feel my daughter’s pain. I have been in her shoes. And it’s not a fun place to be! But what I’ve learned is this…. You can either sit back and be lonely because you don’t want to try again…. or you can try once more in the hopes that maybe it would be different. We are all different. Some people love to pick up a phone and call someone else. Some people don’t think about picking up a phone, but enjoy it when others call them. Some people would rather email, Facebook, and text instead of talking face-to-face or on the phone. Some people would rather get together in person for coffee instead of a quick 5 minute phone call. We are all different. But we must find our common denominator!!! I questioned Faith on what was hurting her more – being bored and feeling lonely because no one has called or emailed her. Or…. the fact that she had to be the one to pick up the phone and call. She had to give up something. She had to choose what was most important to her. Her stubbornness or a friendship. If you asked a 2 year old what was the common denominator of 1/3 and 1/4, MOST children (except for maybe one or two prodigies out there!) wouldn’t have a clue as to what I was talking about. But over time, that child will begin to learn the basics and then get to the point where they can find the common denominator. The same is true with our friendships/relationships. I think often we forget that we have to learn the basics of a friendship/relationship before we can move on to fractions and common denominators. And once we find that common denominator, our friendships will grow and grow and grow! -If we don’t start doing the basics, we will not advance.
-If we don’t start being a friend, we will not have a friend.
-If we want our friendships to multiply, then we need to learn friendship addition first!
-If you are angry because no one is making an effort to be your friend, ask yourself what effort are YOU putting into it.
-If you are hurt because someone else has offended you, ask yourself if YOU have done the same thing to them.
-If you find that all of your friends abandon you after a while, ask yourself if YOU are doing something to push them away.
-If you are giving more than you are receiving, ask yourself if YOU are really doing all that you can do. Friendships are important, but it’s gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time…. it’s gonna take patience and time… to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, right child. (sorry, got off on a tangent there and got a song stuck in my head! LOL) So, I encourage you find your common denominator, but start with simple addition!