The Challenge

"A friends loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I've had quite a few conversations about friendship lately. I've heard comments that, quite frankly, I was surprised by...

"I thought her friendship bank was full."

Really?

"I realized I have no friends."

Truly?

We had a great speaker at our Mom's group last week. She spoke about friendship. She spoke about boundaries. She spoke about results. She spoke words that I wish I could have heard a long time ago.

Two things that she said really stood out to me...

Does your friendship cause you to be a better wife? A better mom? A better friend? Does your friendship strengthen your walk with God??

AND

Are you to your friends what they are to you?

I realized how blessed I am to have some pretty stinkin' perfect friends. Friends who have made me a better wife. A better mom. A better friend. And have most certainly caused me to have a better walk with the Lord. The Lord has so graciously blessed me beyond what I deserve. I am beyond thankful for these friends. I pray that I can be that kind of friend to all my friends...

I also realized how incredibly selfish I am...

I have certain friends who I feel are so incredibly wise. I just want to glean from them. I realized that I tend to only call them when I need them. I don't tend to call them to ask how they are doing. To see how THEIR life is going. I'm so wrapped up in my own issues, I don't look beyond. In fact, I felt so convicted, I had to immediately apologize to some of my wise friends...

I was later talking to some women and several said they felt they had no friends. These are women that I know are loved. That I know would be called friend. Yet, they don't see it.

We talked about stepping out of our zone. The zone that is both comfortable and yet, isolating, all at the same time. We talked about God's faithfulness when we step out.

Ever since Cory was sick and we were basically forced to "step out", I have had an image in my head. Cory and I were both quite self-sufficient. We loved to help others. We did NOT love to be helped. We could do it ourselves. Well, when you have 4 kids 5 and under and a sick husband, you truly have no choice. You simply CANNOT do it on your own. We were just talking about it the other day and truly, I don't even know how we got through it at all. Scratch that. I know exactly HOW we got through it. GOD. He did it all. He got us through...

Back to the image. My image is an island. I see an island and I know without a shadow of a doubt that had God wanted us to be self-sufficient, He would have put on all on our own. Our islands would never touch. We would never need each other... He, of course, did NOT do that. He so wonderfully put us all together. To help each other. To support each other. To love each other. To serve each other. To pray for each other. He blessed us with friends. Friends who so fantastically do His will. Friends who love you. Serve you. Bless you. Pray for you.

My challenge is this...

Step out. Love your friends like you want to be loved. Ask someone to join you for coffee. Coordinate a play date. Call someone to see how they are doing. Encourage your friends in their walk with the Lord. Hold each other accountable.

Can you imagine if we all just stepped out? Got a little uncomfortable? Can you imagine the party that God would have? Can you imagine the victory? What an amazing party that would be!!