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Quote by Abbi Waxman

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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

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Abbi Waxman

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“Flawed, imperfect, fallen. If these things describe me accurately—it should be evident to my friends that they do—then it should be obvious that I need to change. If I insist on remaining just as I am; if I demand acceptance without judgment—or worse, if I also demand that my friends validate my present state and declare it good, then I am asking them to aid and abet my damnation. Just as flowing water is stopped by a dam, I will be condemned to my present state. But that is not what I want. I deeply desire to correct my flaws, put right my imperfections, and overcome my fallenness. I cannot make these changes on my own. Without forthright friends who help me see myself accurately, I am lost. My best friends, therefore, are the ones who see me clearly and love me enough to tell me that I can become better. My best friends are the ones who point me to Christ, He who is mighty to save and Best Friend to all who will have Him.”

“We are, by our human natures, foolish. We engage in all manner of nonsense and create all sorts of problems for ourselves—some of them quite serious. There may be times in our lives when we find our world crumbling around us and see that we are losing that which we value most. In these circumstances, when the voices of our forthright friends are urgent, it would be more prudent to consider their warnings than complain about the tone of their voices or assert that they are not diplomatic. Real friends serve us best when they call out dangers that we cannot perceive. Plainspoken friends, particularly those who may have experienced the things we now suffer, may see and understand more than we can see and understand ourselves. It would be wise to listen to their counsel, even—perhaps especially—when our first instinct is to insist that our circumstances are different, that they do not understand us, or that they have hurt our feelings. Forthright friends are rare. If you have such friends, listen humbly and keep them close: you have discovered treasure.”