Exploring the 3 Types of Friendships in Life

Did you ever experience a time in your life when you felt people were avoiding you?

Ever wonder why people purposely stayed away? Perhaps, you wonder if you offended them in some way.

You think over your last encounters reflecting on your conversations.

Did you say something that was misunderstood? Were you complaining or gossiping? Maybe you did nothing at all.

Perhaps your last meeting was fine, maybe even great. You remember sharing laughter, enjoying each other's company, everything was wonderful.

Days go by, weeks, and months pass. You reach out, but they don't return your calls.

Maybe you run errands and see them out and about. A simple 'hello' and you both move along. Yet there are no more calls. No more visits and you sense you're being avoided.

How do you feel? Do you follow up with them and ask if something is wrong? Or do you just let it go, thinking, well maybe it's for the best.

These questions trouble many.

More often than we would like to think. Perhaps we are too busy in our lives to bother with another. We would like to think we would "be there" for our friends in their time of need.

Yet for many there is a sense of rejection, a real hopelessness for those who are out casted and left alone.

This review leads to another question.

What about you? Which side of the rope do you stand on? Are you the one being rejected, or are you the one who is avoiding someone else?

Friendships come and go in life. In the seasons of change, a person encounters new friends and old friends fall away.

There are those friendships that stay with you during a lifetime. Those that are the first you call to share good news and the ones you can count on in a crisis.

The seasonal friends could be those you work with. There is minimal outside contact besides the day-to-day working together. These friends share your joys and may know of your sorrows but they don't connect deeply with your situation. They are the flyaway friends. When a person leaves the job, you don't see them anymore. That's it. They are gone.

Lastly there are the stranger friends. These are the simple encounters you have with your neighbors, local grocers or attendants that you see often. Yet there is no deep meaning to the relationship. They serve a purpose. They help you carry in your groceries. They may shovel your sidewalk in the winter. They may be regulars at your church. You don't know a lot about their lives and you don't want to. This is the avoidable friend. You don't seek a deep friendship with them and they easily drop out of your life.

Now let's dive deeper into the meaning of these 3 types of friendships.

So why are there so many types of relationships?

Perhaps God is fulfilling a need in your life. If you had too many stranger friends, you would never find meaning in relationships.

If you had too many lifetime friends, you wouldn't have time for your family or your job. Taking care of everyone else would leave you little time for yourself.

What brings you the most joy in life? Is it your family, your children, your job?

What you’re most passionate about is where you will devote most of your time. If relationships are important to you, then friendships will be meaningful. At the same time, rejection will be miserable. For the more you care, the more you will hurt.

In life a person may only have one or two lifetime friendships.

The deep meaningful relationship that lasts a lifetime is such a gift. Those relationships should be cared for, tenderly with great sincerity.

For when one of them leaves through death or some other unfortunate circumstance, the pain is deeply heart-wrenching. These are the friends we call our lifetime friend.

Stranger friends serve a purpose in your life during seasons of change and growth. They are there to support you when you need a helping hand.

Sometimes these are the angels God puts in your life right when you need them. They provide comfort, sympathy, and support, physically and mentally when you can’t do it alone.

Many times they are in your life just for the simple joy of laughter. Their connection rarely moves to the next stage.

Seasonal friends are different than stranger friends because they have knowledge. You reveal more to these friends than you would a stranger. They know a little bit of your history, perhaps you share common friends.

These friendships are seasonal in nature because they last longer than others. Their season could last for years even decades. Yet for these friends there are still barriers; broken down communication, mistrust and sometimes bitterness creeps in destroying these friendships.

At the same time these relationships can provide deep growth. Through these friendships your character is stretched. In them you gain mature wisdom and much experience.

Some of these friendships have the potential to develop into lifetime friendships.

Think about it. Who are the people in your life?

What type of friend are you? Are there friendships you would like to change? Reflecting on these answers may lead you to understand the isolations you felt or the rejections you’ve experienced.