Sharpening Friends

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY  Copyright 2012:singeronthesand

You use steel to sharpen steel,

and one friend sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

I had kind of a rough evening last night.  I have been attending rehearsals of a community chorus in preparation for a concert at the end of August, and the women in my section have been less than welcoming. I have been arriving slightly late for rehearsal so that I could not get to my section, sitting instead in front of the basses and to the left of the tenors.  Because I was doing some piano work for the director, it was only natural for me to sit where I could have easier access to the piano.

This week, however, the director asked me to return to my section; I complied, and didn't have to wait long for the catty remarks to come forth - first from the lady to my left, then from a girl in front of me.  After the second instance, I thought, "You know - I do this for a living; why am I subjecting myself to this in my spare time?"  At the end of the session, I quietly left my music on the chair in the choir loft, and walked out with no intention of returning.

The morning light brought some doubts - perhaps I was being too sensitive?  Perhaps the women didn't mean it the way it sounded?  A very good friend of mine had called the other day with an invitation to lunch today, and it provided me with a wonderful opportunity to bounce my woes off another sounding board. I told her all the remarks that had been made, from start to finish, and then we discussed what was said and why the individuals involved might have made the comments.  In the end, she reassured me that I was being neither unreasonable nor overly sensitive.  The remarks were not made in a friendly manner so it should be no surprise that I did not take them that way.

My friend is no pushover - if she thought I was in the wrong, she would have told me quite plainly - one of the reasons why she is treasured.  I wasn't looking for someone to agree with me; I was seeking another opinion of the events and the soundness of my interpretation.  I would value her opinion whether she thought I was right or wrong.  And she would continue to value my friendship either way.