Praying before you text back can save a friendship.

The gap between reading something and replying is where most of the damage gets done or avoided. A reply written in the first thirty seconds comes from whichever feeling arrived first, and it is sharper than what you would send ten minutes later. Inserting anything into that gap works. The content of the pause matters less than the fact of it.

When the next message lands badly, put the phone face down and do something else for ten minutes. Then write the reply. Compare it with the one you nearly sent, and notice which friendship that saved.