I have been reflecting on the nature of relationships and friendships lately and have wondered whether I have placed too much burden and too many expectations on my friends.
I desire to have close friends, people who will fight the battles of life with me, who will join with me on long journeys to accomplish seemingly impossible goals. I want to have a band of brothers. I want to be Frodo and have the support of my dear friend Sam as we travel to Mordor to destroy the one ring. I want to be in the Harry Potter stories, joined with my dearest and inseparable friends, to defeat Voldemart. Using an example from the Bible, I want to be Jonathan who supports his friend and God’s anointed David through thick and thin.
When I think of true friendship, these examples from literature and popular film are often what come to mind. I want to be the hero in my own story and be surrounded with people who love and support me, and yet with my romantic ideal of friendship, I perhaps forget that the bond formed by the band of brothers (in either the case of Henry V or the 101st Airborne) was forged in war while overcoming the death of many close friends. I want to have the benefits of friendship without fighting a war and without having to face a Sauron, a Voldemort or a King Saul. A deep and special relationship with friends is something that I unashamedly desire, and yet I am less sure about wanting to experience the part of the story where I endure shared sacrifice and loss.
Instead of living with the disappointment that comes from not lliving someone else’s life, maybe I should simply be content and thankful for my very plain and ordinary life and for the plain and ordinary people that surround me. It may not be the stuff of a movies, and maybe it would make for a very bad novel, but it can still be satisfying and even meaningful.
