Good friends are like guard rails

So what do you do when life is causing you such pain & heart ache you can't find the strength to go on...first you make sure you don't have any open untreated wounds or are wearing wet spandex with sand in it (I have heard that is very painful...especially if it is too tight).

Don't have either of those? Then you have something called a problem. Most aren't fatal and everyone gets them from time to time. They are like life's version of the mumps or measles.

I had a problem with a friend at work and because I'm a man (we men don't admit we have problems and don't like to go to other people for help) I was letting it irrate me to the point it became a major sources of stress for a few weeks. While catching up with a friend I haven't spoken with in a long time, this area of concern came up and he had a few things to say.

It has been a while since a friend has had to say something that hurt me or put me in my place. He was humble, gentle & firm yet didn't lie and told me what I needed to hear to deal with this growing problem. The funny thing was I had been trying to solve the problem and had looked at it from every angle & tried almost every solution except the one he proposed. With in two days I knew he was right and the almost hurtful words he shared didn't seem to hurt so much any more.

Good friends are like guard rails, they only hurt you when you are out of control and leaving the highway of life. They keep on that road and gladly take any bumps you give them without complaining much.

(P.S. I didn't give my friend any bumps...just in case anyone was wondering what that last line might have implied)