Acceptance in Friendship

As you can see, I have many treasured friendships, harmonious relationships where love, acceptance and respect abound. I would be lying, though, if I said these are the only kind of relationships I've known. Many years ago, in my 20s, I met a girl who appeared to want to be my friend. Over time, though, it became apparent that she really wanted to be my teacher and an agent of change in my life. It wasn't enough for her that I'd already been changed by the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of Christ. I'd grown up very differently than she had (which is true of many of my friends), and had been exposed to a much more secular environment. Unlike so many of my current friends, though, this girl was unwilling to accept our differences. I now know to look out for people who seem to think they can only be friends with people just like them, and I am more aware of my own need to accept differences in others, and even appreciate and embrace those differences. I like what William and Patricia Coleman say in their book, Because We're Friends: "I am glad for who you are, not what I want you to become."