When Friends Gather
Friendship won't ever be perfect.The only perfect friend we have is in Jesus. Did you know that Jesus, son of God, is your friend? (John 15:15)Though friendship is hard, because of imperfect people, it's always worth it.God has blessed me with some really great people in my life. So many women don't put value in maintaining friendships with other women and through the years I've heard it all:I'm too busy.I prefer to be friends with men, women are too much dramaMy husband works too much for me to have friends.Women are hard to be friends with.I don't need friends I have my husband and children. I'm an introvert, I don't do social gatherings well.And while all these excuses for not being a friend can at some times in our lives hold some validity, we are called to be in relationship with each other. Jesus had people. People that he was friends with. People that he hung out with, drank wine with, laughed with, cried with, walked on the road with, did ministry together with, taught with and loved with. Jesus was a friend, he did real life with real people in hard authentic and tricky places. He was even friends with someone, shared meals with someone, taught and poured into someone who would ultimately betray him. (see story of Judas).Ya'll we need each other. This world is hard, hard, hard. We have to maintain friendships and love and be loved. Otherwise, it's terrible out there. You may not thrive on the energy of friendship like I do, but you still need people, you are still called to do life with people in some form.Here's a few tips
Pray for friends if you don't have them, God will provide
To have a friend you must also be a friend. Be willing to do the hard work and die to yourself sometimes, because they will also be doing hard work and putting themselves out there for you.
Carve out intentional time for friendships
Your calendar reflects what's important to you. Is Facebook taking over Face to Face time? If so you can make a change!
Are you opening yourself up to new people? If not why? How can you invite God in to your life to help you make this change
Frienship is for everyone. If you've been a bad friend, ask for forgiveness and make a change. If you've been closed off to friendship becuase of past hurts now is the time to trust God with your heart and lead you to a friend group. If you have great friends, be thankful for them and make sure to our into and cherish that friendship. Good friends and hard to find, hang on to them!Gather with friends this holiday season. I recently hosted a Friendsgiving with the girls I host in my home for Bible study every week. We each brought dish and we were thankful together, it was so special. There was delicious food, wine, great converstaion, laughter and tears. It was all the good things!It's the gathering season and there are alot of ways to do just that. Have a friendsgiving, a friendsmas, a sock exchange or just a simple girls night. Find some gathering ideas on my Pinterest page.When friends gather love reins, laughter is bound to show up and God is glorified as we walk through life together.