Sister or Brother Friends

Yesterday, I spent several hours at an event designed for women to fellowship and consider the different seasons of life. It was amazing to be in the presence of a group of women (in person) and to share and talk and laugh and eat with them. It’s been such a long time since we were together and I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I was in the room with them. 

What a blessing it was. Yes, it was different than it was before COVID. We were screened and masked and spread out, but what a time we had together. 

As I’ve contemplated it, I realize how much we need friends in our lives.  I mean real friends, not just acquaintances.  I have some wonderful women in my life who share life with me, and I have on a very limited basis spent time with them over the past two years. But, oh, how we need people in our lives who can just be supportive when we need to vent or talk through a situation or just sit with us when we don’t feel like engaging in anything else (Prov 17:17). 

Sometimes, we just need those who we can be vulnerable with and not have to put on faces or masks. We need ones we can trust not to take what we share and attack us with it later (Prov 20:6). God places people in our lives who can fill these roles, but it’s up to us to take full advantage of the opportunities God affords us. We also need to make sure these friends know how much we appreciate them. 

If you have a sister or a brother friend who is always someone you can lean on and just be yourself with, don’t forget to give them love and let them know how much they mean to you (1 Pet 4:8). If the last two years has shown us nothing, it’s that we don’t know how long we have with people. At every opportunity, we need to show love and kindness, because we may not get another chance. Love on someone close to you today. We all need it.