Relationships: Friends

In the world of relationships friends are important, but there are some things about having and being a friend that be difficult to handle. It is essential that we remember that God says that if we desire to have friends, we must show ourselves friendly. (Prov. 18:24)

Need Friends? Be One.

Friends don’t typically just happen. There will be work involved when seeking friends and sometimes it means that you have to make the first move. Jill Savage refers to it as being a “there you are person”.

I struggle with finding friends in real life, but am working towards being more hospitable and being a friend to those God brings into my life. Some of my favorite ways to take the first step to being a friend are…

• Invite the entire family over for dinner (BBQ is my favorite)
• Have the kids and mom over for a playdate
• Go to a Christian concert together
• Take a walk through town and end up at the coffee shop

Here are a few tips to ensure that you aren’t attempting perfection in the midst of friendship.

• Don’t dress to impress
• Don’t clean your entire house and make it look market ready
• Do be real – be yourself
• Do be authentic – no one wants fake
• Do give grace – don’t judge

Friends Make Us Grow

No matter how much you have in common with your best friend, there will be things upon which you don’t agree. It is in the times of disagreement and even frustration or anger that will either make or break the relationship.

If we would learn to look at these moments as personal growing places, instead of getting our feelings hurt or just giving up and walking away, our friendships would be stronger, we’d be wiser and our lives would have less stress.

Real Friends Love the Real You

All of us have had some sort of struggles throughout life with friends. Some women hold us up to a perfect picture of what we should be, how we should act and what we should do or say, instead of accepting us for who we are…right where we are. This makes no sense because we’re all imperfect women, we all have flaws.

It’s fairly easy to determine who your real friends are. You’ll know who your real friends are because…

• They’ll accept your just as you are today
• They won’t judge you based on your past
• They’ll seek spending time with you (you won’t do all the getting together planning)
• You’ll laugh and cry together
• You don’t fear telling them all about your bad day for fear of judgement

I believe God gives us the friends we need for the season of life we’re in. Some friends may come and go based on where each of us are in life. The key to friendship is cherishing those God places in your life, don’t take them for granted…make sure they know how special they are to you. Always be ready to be a friend, you never know when you might be the one needing or wanting a friend.