Let's be friends Part 1

About 6 months ago I went on a soul search concerning friendship. I was feeling like all my true childhood friends were miles away or our lives had taken different directions. And that it seemed almost impossible to make close lasting friendships now that I was a married with children adult.

I had hoped that God would give me a quick fix answer and bring me instant BFF's. But of course that would mean I'd miss out on the lovely journeys that He loves to send me on.

At first I asked my Dad his thoughts on friendship this is what he said:

"Who would you call first if you were in jail and needed bailed out? Some one that wouldn't ask questions, pay the bail and come pick you up."  I laughed at first but the more I thought about it that was a really good thought.
( I'd also like to add to that list "And not gossip to others about you being in jail ".)
 As I made my mental list of the friends I thought would do this God whispered "Who would call you?"
And I realized at that moment God was going to show me how to BE the kind of friend I was wanting.

After that I met with one of my close friends. We've been friends for 13 years. Now in that 13 years I got married and had kids and she is a very successful single woman of God. So naturally the past 8 years or so we've went many months without seeing or talking to each other because we were on different paths.
During our dinner out we were chatting about church. She asked if I liked my church and if I was plugged in.
I responded with "Yes,we are greeters, we work the nursery and I'm in music." She then said "Do you have friends at church that you would call if you were in distress?" Oh well..... Ouch! Again I heard that voice whisper "Would anyone at church call you?" Umm probably not.

As you can imagine I'm still on this friendship journey.  God has been showing me how to be a better friend to the ones I already have in my life. We all need real covenant friendships in our lives. But in this busy life most of us lead it's hard to cultivate those.
In my next post we will talk about making new friends. It seems simple right?....Ok maybe not.