Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times.
I think one of the greatest joys I find in womanhood is in my
friendships. My husband has some
wonderful friends – men he has known for years and who now live all over the
country, some of whom he speaks to almost daily. But Adam’s conversations with his friends are
like a morning radio show on ESPN. They rehash athletes and sporting events as
though being paid to do so, and then hang up abruptly, never once having
inquired about one another’s wives, children, jobs, lives, souls.
Lord, how I thank you for making me a female. I don’t ever have to talk about Tiger Woods
with my girlfriends. I can, of course,
because my friends and I can talk about anything. Yet the majority of my conversations with
other women consist of meaningful discussion that truly has the potential to affect
my life.
It wasn’t always that way. The
richness that exists in my friendships is not there just because I’m a woman –
it’s also there because I’m an adult and a mother. I was fortunate to have great friends
throughout my childhood, and many of those friendships will, I believe, last
for the rest of my life. Still, young
girls can’t possibly grasp the depth of importance their friends will have in
their adult lives – when the jealousy is either completely gone or easily
shared, and the focus is on love and loyalty rather than on social status and
survival. We’re in this game of life
together now, as companions instead of competitors. We want the best for each other, we help each
other, sacrifice for each other.
Yes, I think the sincerity in my adult friendships with other mothers
comes from the maturity only age and experience can provide. I also believe it comes from the One who
designed friendship from the beginning, He who created us to be in fellowship
with others so we could learn what it means to truly love your neighbor as
yourself (Mark 12:31). You see, I
treasure my friends because I see Christ in them, and because, I want to be
Christ for them. I spent a weekend with some of my favorite women recently – a girls getaway as we like to call such outings. And while we didn’t go far, we didn’t stay long, and we didn’t do anything particularly special, the weekend . . . the women . . . touched my life, and I wasn’t at all surprised.
I see love notes from God all around me this time of year. In the warmth of the spring sun on my back,
in the dogwoods peeking through the pines, in the yellow tulips smiling at me
from just beyond my front door. But I see
God most in other women. When they laugh
with me, and sometimes, at me. When they
challenge me to be myself, only better. When
they are honest about my flaws, and accept me anyway. When they send me a thoughtful text message
at just the right time. When they lift me up with kind words and gestures. When they encourage me to look beyond my
circumstances. When they affirm my worth
in their caring. When they nurture me .
. . educate me . . . inspire me . . . forgive me.
I am so grateful to God for the amazing women he has put in my life. They are beautiful and bold. They are dynamic and daring. They are smart and sweet and silly and soulful. They are His daughters, spirit-filled and
spirit-led, and they are my friends. I pray
I can love them as well as they love me.
