Friendship

I just wanted to take a minute to say, that I am just so blessed. God knows just what we need and truly I could not have a better army then the sweet sisters/friends that God has blessed me with. I think that finding people that love you even in your sweats, with no make up on, when you have been balling your eyes out all week like a baby - still want to be around you, it's a valuable and priceless treasure. Those are the kind of friends I have! I have never felt so blessed or so surrounded by godly, wise and beautiful inside and out women as I am in this season of life. God truly knows what we need and when we need it.

I have learned a ton about myself this year and about friendships and am so humbled by the women that God has placed in my path. I have so much to learn from them, so much love and admiration for them and am just SO thankful. It is not about how many friends you have, that I have always known, its about the quality of the friendships that you are building.

In this day and age with Facebook and so much other superficial interaction I think lots of women start to feel lonely no matter how many people like or comment on their status that day. We were made for more than that! Facebook is a phenomenal tool that we can use to encourage and love others, to catch up and say hello to people we wouldn't normally have the chance to. But it could never replace real face to face, heart to heart, quality time. We were made to interact with each other in a face to face kind of way!

With being a mom of four and having a hubby in full time ministry it very much limits the amount of time that I get face to face with the people I love. But that has truly made my sweet friends all the more valuable to me.

I moved about a thousand times growing up, so now that I have been settled here for a while I have much to be thankful for, memories made, friendships being built, people walking along side me as I grow and learn and mature. I also have lovely young women on the other side watching me, learning from me and allowing me to walk with them as they grow. Priceless. There is nothing like being able to reach out to a sister ask for prayer knowing full well that she will pray for you. There is just so much richness in friendships that the Lord is a part of! It just opens the door for more blessed conversation, deeper conversation, more grace, more forgiveness, more sharpening, more growth. All that goodness doesn't happen with everyone, it takes time, energy, honesty, grace, vulnerability and some late night laughter or tears with a good cup of coffee and some chocolate or hair dye.

I know that this is a tender subject for many women who long to find a friend who can live every day life with them and accept them completely and fully, who is dependable and trustworthy. I have had so many seasons where I felt alone, especially after continually moving and having to start over again and again. But God is faithful, get involved at church, pick a couple people and invest in them, be the kind of friend you are longing for and trust the Lord that in His timing He will provide what you need. He is good like that. Maybe He wants you to run to Him first, pour out your heart to Him first, be strong in Him first and then He graciously provides a friend or two....and really, that's all we truly need. :)

The best advice I ever heard  about the healthy friendships we should have in our lives was from Jon Knoedler. He said something along the lines of this...It is really important for Christians to have a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy. A Paul is a mentor like friend that can teach you, encourage growth in you, and a godly person that you admire and aspire to be like. A Barnabas is a friend that is in the same place as you, so you can walk through life together, encouraging and sharpening each other in the Lord. A Timothy is a person that you pour yourself into, walk along side and can actively support and encourage in their walk. This is how God made us, not just to receive but to give.

All I can say is that the friends that have impacted me the most through life have also looked a lot like Jesus to me. And that inspires me to speak, act and love more like Jesus too. My desire has become to bless the women around me in the ways I have been blessed by the godly women in my life! I am still learning and growing and getting chipped away at so that my reflection is more like Him, but I am working hard to get there!

Thank you to the women who have loved me, forgiven me, laughed with me, cried with me, pointed me to Jesus time and time again as I have clumsily stumbled through life. I see Jesus in you and that is what draws my heart to yours! I am so grateful for you and aspire to love like you love and live like you live! I love you!