Forever Beloved

How beautiful is that? I mean, that’s hallmark movie stuff right there. We have sworn friendship to each other in the name of the Lord. Doesn’t that just make you smile? Yeah, me too. How many of us crave a friendship like that? Those true, genuine friendships are one of life’s real blessings.

We all have that a desire in our hearts, the longing to be “best friends”. The melody takes us back to our best friends, the boys and girls we hung out with when we were little – innocent times, free times, fun times. These were when we shared our secrets and our dreams with our bestie.  For me it included sitting under the grapevine, whispering secrets, playing house {and army}, riding bikes and enjoying each others company. That is something we were born with, the desire for fellowship with others. As adults, we are always looking for good friendships. God wired us with a natural desire for friends.

  

Friendships don’t “just happen”. They have to be built on a solid foundation. With friendships, as with buildings, if they aren’t built on a solid foundation they will eventually fall and crumble. I don’t think any of us want to put time, effort and heart into a friendship just to have it eventually fall apart. Here are a few tips on building your friendship on solid, lasting foundation.

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

John 15:14

Have a friendship with Jesus first.  We are best prepared for true, healthy friendships when we place our relationship with Jesus at the center of our life then revolve all our other relationships around that.  Our relationship with Jesus has to be our top priority.  If it’s not, then it’s time to do some serious heart work.

Find godly girlfriends.  We want a bestie that is running right beside us when we run to Jesus. If they aren’t, then we have to let them go. Why is this so important? When we call our bestie crying, asking for advice, we certainly want to hear Biblical advice. We want to hear hope. We want to be told, gently in love, of our wrongdoings. We want to have fellowship. We want to have fun. And hello, we want to see them again. Why should death end a friendship. So keep your eyes open and watch for people God directly places in your life.  And definitely pray for guidance about which ones may become good friends.

Figure out what kind of friend you are.  We need to get to know our God-given personalities, and pray for the wisdom we need to use our personal strengths to strengthen your friendships and work on your weaknesses so they don’t hinder your friendships.  I have a strong personality with a good bit of honesty sprinkled in, I’m 100% devoted, true and I love to laugh.  That is basically the kind of friend I am.  So for me, I have to find friends that are able to deal with that and balance me.  Reflect on what types of qualities you’re looking for in friends. Then consider what type of friendships you’d most enjoy.

Make time for friendships. Our lives are busy in this fast-paced world. But if we want long-lasting friendships, we have to invest time in them. One possible solution, try taking care of your daily responsibilities together rather than trying to carve out time just for fun. If you have to can spaghetti sauce tomorrow morning; invite your girlfriend over, give her a cup of coffee and just chat with her while you do your work. Have dishes to do? Call your friend and chat while you do your dishes. Go for a morning walk together.

Recognize toxic friendships and end them.  This is a hard one, isn’t it?  We can get so caught up in a friendship that we don’t realize how toxic it is.  While healthy friendships are blessings, unhealthy friendships can cause toxic, destructive messes in your life.  I like to call these drama tornadoes.  Drama queens, cynics, manipulators and gossips are just some of the emotionally unhealthy people whose behaviors are toxic to you. If any of your friends exhibits unhealthy behaviors, pray about your friendship with her. Once you’ve determined that a particular friendship is toxic, either break off contact immediately or slowly withdraw from the relationship (however God leads you), forgive your former friend for her mistakes, and spend the time you’d previously put into that friendship in prayer with God instead.

Thank you so much for joining me this week!  Join me next Friday as we have the second part in this series.  I’m so super excited to work through this study with y’all!!! 

I LOVE LOVE this idea.  I’ve done this for the past couple years and going to this year as well.  I love this time of year and how it makes me feel sooooooo warm, cozy, grateful, thankful and LOVED.  I’m going to do mine with a photo a day here on my blog.  Hopefully you can play along.  And if you do, link it up below!   

Today I am thankful that my sins are forgiven thanks to Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord.  And for His undeserving grace He shows me daily.  Without Him, my life would be a broken mess.  I’m super thankful He has taken me and molded me into the Christian woman I am.  And thankful for the hand He has had in my life since the moment i was born.

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Let me tell you a story.
38 years ago, a young teenage girl found out she was pregnant.
She was afraid.
She was ashamed.
She was embarrassed.
She was judged.
She was confused.
The road ahead was filled with tough decisions.
Running away from them was not an option.
In front of her sat a “quick fix”.
It meant no one would know.
The shame would end.
She would no longer have to be afraid.
Though her baby was just starting to develop, she already loved it.
She couldn’t take the quick fix.
Her faith was strong.
She knew what was right.
She chose life.
The most selfless decision she could make.
God brought a wonderful woman into her life.
A woman who heard her story, but never judged.
She reminded her of God’s love and grace.
She told her of a dear friend who struggled with infertility.
And with that, a decision was made.
A decision she knew would leave her heartbroken.
For 9 months, the life grew inside her.
She felt every bump and every kick.
She watched her belly grow twice it’s size.
Every passing day her heart broke a little more.
She knew the hardest day of her life was right around the corner.
Eventually the day came.
She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
The reality fell heavy on her heart.
Tears rolled down her face.
She had so many fears.
And felt a void already.
But she knew it was God’s will.
She handed her baby over to the wonderful woman.
And watched her walk away.
In her young mind, she had no idea what an impact that single moment would make.
That one day, she would be that baby girls hero.
For choosing to give her to an amazing family.
For choosing to have a selfless heart.
For choosing life.

Abortion and adoption are so very close to my heart.  As 40 Days For Life comes to a close, I asked that you will join me in prayer for these scared mama’s that don’t know where to turn, for the unborn babies that won’t be given a chance and for the doctors that administer the abortions.  Let’s pray for the pain so many of them carry in their hearts.

The video below is a powerful one.  I was in tears most of the time (my littles would say that is nothing new).   Take a few minutes out of your day to watch it, you won’t regret it.