Happiness

She wasn’t worth a farthing. I didn’t need her in my life. These were my thoughts as I sifted through social media in search of the connections I wanted to keep.

I deleted her and kept moving. She served no purpose. I wasn’t losing much. But then it happened... She reached out to me and asked why I severed the attachment.

“I’ve moved on,” I said.

This devastated her. She was crestfallen. We used to be friends. The shift was so subtle from friends to frenemies that she initially couldn’t perceive it. I didn’t wish her harm. I just wished us distance. She no longer inspired me. I placed little value in our communication.

However, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I saw my former friend at a local cafe. I had left my pocketbook at home unintentionally and I didn’t have the money to pay for my tea and pastry. I was embarrassed, but I asked for help.

“Could you spare some change?” I asked her. She was an angel.

“You’ve changed!” she said, elated. She went on to pay for me to have a bite to eat and some caffeine. I was thrilled. I didn’t know how to confess to her that I had it all wrong and I shouldn’t measure people’s worth based on their online personas. Some people really cared for us and didn’t know how to express it.

I learned a lot that day. Never judge a person by their online presence. Some friendships were genuine and others were based on deception. May we know the difference between truth and lies. May we see the best in each other and look with gratitude, with contentment. May sincere happiness be contagious - a smile, our true prize. In all our choices, may we be wise.