I can safely say I would not be who I am today without the close friendships God has surrounded me with throughout my life, especially in college and the years after. Whether it’s making memories and having fun together or being called “up” when I wasn’t acting like Christ… I’ve seen how fruitful friendships mean truly being there for one another through the good and the bad. I’ve also been through times where friends have moved away, and I find myself without deep connections. I either wait for others to act first or just give up entirely, caving in to the ease of isolation over investing in new friendships. I wrestle with whether it’s worth risking disappointment, rejection, or being vulnerable all over again. But instead of waiting for the perfect friend (which I have to remember will be impossible on this side of Heaven), I need to remember God’s perfect design. He loves me and wants what’s best for me, which includes opening up and surrounding myself with safe friends by investing in those relationships around me. Lord, it’s not always easy to be friends with those You’ve put in my life, but please help me trust You to love and comfort others as You have loved and comforted me.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10