I don't know what to do with myself...

Don't know just what-- nevermind.

I'm troubled by something, but only one or two of you will understand what I'm talking about on anything more than a general level. Whatever, here goes.

What I've seen is that we tend to pick sides when it comes to friendships. If you have a large group of friends, all friendly with each other, they naturally form a few close-knit groups within the whole. But what happens is when two people have conflict, everyone tends to line up on one side or the other. Let's say you remove one of the parties from the group setting for a time. What seems to happen is that everyone lines up with the person who they're most in contact with, because, after all, they're all friends. But when the removed party returns, the group as a whole plays the outward game of being friendly with the newly returned party, when secretly they have already chosen to stand with the other. Hypocrisy runs rampant. Hurt feelings deepen. Alienation occurs. And the group begins to dissolve.

They will know we are Christians by our cliques.

Look, I don't know what's gone on with my friends, but I know that the group is poisoning itself with this two-faced business. They all need to just get it out in the open and deal with it, and quit this lying, backstabbing bullcrap. Cuz that sucks, and it's unfair to the people being talked about/avoided/cut out.

And I know, I know, I have no idea what's going on, it's not my conflict, and it's none of my business.

I know. I'm not part of the group anymore. But that doesn't mean I stopped caring.

If it weren't for the special occasion, I probably wouldn't even bother showing up in a few months. Because from the sound of it, I don't know any of you guys anymore.

*****
Sorry, readers. Dave's feeling disconnected today. And he misses his "second family" up the highway, which seems to be going through some tough times.