scaffolding

I studied today for my child psychology class and learned an interesting thought. Lev Bygotsky, probably the most influential Russian Psychologist of all times, had a two main ideas: one being scaffolding. You know scaffolds, the things on the sides of tall buildings that the painters or whoever stands on to reach the high places. Yeah, his idea was that people are scaffolds; we 'support' by guidance, love, etc., other people in the learning process. He proved with the help of other people that a person could in fact exceed his or her capacity to learn. Fascinating, truly. I think I want to be like scaffolding- supporting friends and challenging them to dig deep in life and truly live out their hopes and aspirations. Support, structure and stability- what qualities could make a better friend than these? The dictionary definition is "A temporary platform, either supported from below or suspended from above, on which workers sit or stand when performing tasks at heights above the ground." That's perfect: temporary- a good friend doesn't have to constantly be in your business checking up on you every second to make sure you're "doing the right thing" From bellow or above- either way, a friend loves no matter if it puts them in a bad situation- the love becase they care and bc Jesus loves and not because of the status it will give them or the love they will receive back. Sit or stand- sometimes friends need to lean a bit more when tough times arise. Above the ground- more than just normal life- those times when life is crazier than homeostatic, those times when you need someone to be scaffolding and consistent with you. So overall, I realized I want to be scaffolding so maybe then I'll have a simple example of how to be a friend, which is something we all desperately need.