It was not long ago that I experienced the consequences of relying on my own instincts. I had a friend- we were trying to keep each other accountable spiritually- and I knew that she was not going in the same direction as I was. I was giving an honest effort to change my attitude and “get serious” about my faith… I knew that she was not willing to go all the way. I was aware that she gossiped, even about me, and held onto a facade even I wasn’t allowed to see through. But my wish to gain a close relationship with someone again caused me to ignore what God and my parents warned me about. And one day, I broke through and really saw her. It was a nightmare. Something that had made her jealous caused her to snap, and I saw a terrible and ugly side to someone who had worked so hard to hide it. I realized, after being ripped from that relationship, that if I had listened to what God had been telling me, I could have easily slid out of that situation. This separation was not so smooth. It was jagged and painful, and left me with a mess to clean up. Lesson: I may never fully recover from that, and I know I will never again be any sort of friend to that girl, who I had known all my life. This is how I learned to listen when I am warned… I pray that the memory alone will keep me from falling flat again.
