I encourage you to be intentional about making room for some solid Christian friendships.
Have your friends heard from you lately?
It can sometimes be hard for working women to make time for friends, especially if you’re married or in a serious dating relationship. And trust me, it only gets harder if you add kids to the mix. The thing is, the more hectic your life gets, the more you need good friends. Investing in healthy, supportive relationships with other Christian women will make you better at pretty-much everything else you’ve got going on.
Don’t believe me?
You don’t have to take my word for it! Solid research shows that friendships can dramatically improve women’s overall health and longevity, optimism regarding challenges, kindness towards others, and even job satisfaction.
This is just the tip of the research-iceberg, and it’s no recent trend, either. Since biblical times, writers have extolled the benefits of friendship:
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!
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone,
two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.
I recently read a brave article by Noel Piper about needing and building friendships. It really got me thinking about a special group of friends who have walked with me through life.
God brought them into my life around the time I first moved to Dallas. First there was Savannah, then Sue, Brenda, and Claire. All professional women, all Christians, and all experiencing motherhood and marriage or divorce (or both). We formed a sort of informal group, meeting every-other week just to share. It’s not a bible study, although we do pray for each other often. Truth be told, it’s not all that structured at all, it’s just a chance to talk, get advice, offer support, and learn from each other. And over the years it’s been one of the most valuable things in my life.
Whether you have your own group or you’re starting fresh, I encourage you to be intentional about making room for some solid Christian friendships. Rushed “catch-up” conversations in the hall after church or late-night Facebook chats from the office don’t count. Like any other relationship, true friendship requires investment of real time and energy.
Trust me, this is one investment you’ll never regret!
For more encouragement, and practical advice you may enjoy The Truth About Ambition
Click here to learn more about the author Diane Paddison
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