Day 74 - Boundaries Explored (A Follow Up)

So, after I published yesterday's blog, the second young lady who I spoke about decided to share her feelings with her friend in the interest of being authentic and honest within their friendship, and she gave me the details of the conversation.  I share this, because the response was an example of love that speaks to the depths that I am exploring which go beyond the traditional bounds that we put on love.  When she told her friend, her friend was genuinely shocked.  Her friend, based on the person that my friend has described her as, is a very sensitive person who is intentional about her communication and in her dealings with other people's feelings.  Because of this (and because of her own experience with expressing her feelings to someone she cared about), she handled the situation with all the grace and care that one could hope for.  She asked questions and gave my friend space to talk and process her feelings.  She was understanding of and even validated her feelings, saying that it was okay to feel the way she felt.  With the wisdom she possesses, she helped my friend to realize more of her own feelings/desires in the situation, and said that she would keep that in mind and be intentional about spending time with her.  My friend even came to the realization that such feelings in this particular context are probably more about helping her heart continue to heal than any sort of romantic entanglement
Even since the initial conversation, she's checked in with her a couple of times just to make sure that she is doing alright and processing well.  Once again, I share all of this because her response speaks to a few things - their level of relationship, her friend's integrity in dealing with relationships, an understanding of love that goes beyond the norm, and an ability to bring healing in a tender situation.  The more I look at love in my life and the lives of people around me, I am greatly appreciative of the bounds that I find to be pushed and moved and even broken and how that brings out great things despite what people tend to perceive.

Understand that words mean everything when hearts are involved.  The care that my friend's friend took in handling the situation has made a scary situation bearable, even positive for my friend.  The friendship, as a result, will most likely find growth and healing as opposed to awkwardness and strain.  When handling emotions and feelings, be they your own or someone else's, handle with care.  You never know the impact that your words, intentional or not, can have.