The truth hurts, even if it’s told without venom. I had a friend stop by the other day and it was so unexpected. I haven’t seen this “friend” for about a year and since she graduated and moved, we lost touch.

She came by without warning and she had a friend with her. Even though I wasn’t in the mood for entertaining, I was glad to see my friend.

As we were catching up, she started to tell me that she wasn’t sure if she should visit me or not. I asked her why and she said because I’m rude.

“Rude,” I asked, “how so?”

“Well, you are one of those people that must have people call ahead of time before they come over because since you’re always so busy, I feel like I have to be penciled in your schedule,” she said. “I was just afraid that if I called, you’d turn me down or something.”

“Ouch,” I thought. I couldn’t believe that my friend was being so frank in front of someone I didn’t know. But my concern was more with why my friend thought the way she did as opposed to how a stranger viewed me.

“Jules,” I said, “I haven’t seen you in what…forever, I was actually talking to Arnita the other day wondering whatever happened to you. I can’t believe you’d think I’d miss the opportunity to see you again.”

She smiled but I could tell that I’ve hurt her in the past and now I’m paying for it. She left soon after her confrontation and I could see that her friend was getting uncomfortable. I also knew that they would talk about me as soon as they left. Hey, it’s human nature, but my friend’s “revelation” made me reevaluate how I conduct myself sometimes.

There is no guarantee way to know how someone truly feels about you, but boy when they tell you, you better be prepared. Usually when someone in your life reveals what they think or feel about you, it tends to be when you least expect it and thus you’re caught off guard. So whenever that happens to you, don’t only listen what that other person has to say, but HEAR what they’re saying. You just might learn something…even if it’s something you already know.