Friendship

“So encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

                                    1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)

I just came back from the most refreshing time away with a group of ladies who love the Lord. A few of my friends and I escaped to the FPEA (Florida Parent Educators Association) convention in Orlando, Florida. This convention is focused on homeschooling, and it offers tons of incredibly useful information…not to mention an amazing exhibit hall with every homeschool curriculum imaginable…and a representative to explain and answer questions.

While I learned a ton about how to homeschool effectively, I was blessed the most by the fellowship of the ladies whom I met at the conference. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Just as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” I was strengthened, challenged, and encouraged by these ladies. John 13:35 informs us that we will know Christians by their love. There were approximately 4,000 homeschool families at this convention, yet the amount of peace as opposed to chaos was evident. The majority of the families there acknowledge Christ as their Lord and Savior and they live by that truth. Instead of feeling like moms were competing against one another to see whose child was the brightest, craftiest, most outgoing, advanced, etc., these moms simply loved on their children for who God had created them to be, and they acknowledged that each mom parents and teaches a bit differently. How refreshing!

I am currently blessed to be five months pregnant with a little baby girl…or another boy. J I also have a four year old and a fourteen month old. I am excited about having three little ones, even though that was not me and my husband’s initial plan. However, I also have to admit that while people are very excited to hear about your first and second child, they often seem puzzled and uncertain by the third and wonder (sometimes out loud) why someone would want to have “all those kids.”

God’s word says that children are a blessing from the Lord, but so often people view children as burdens…especially if you have a lot of them. My point in highlighting all this is to say that it is important to hang out with people who are going to encourage you in your walk with the Lord—people who have been where you are or are trying to walk the same road. That doesn’t mean that everyone we hang out with has to be just like us, but we should carefully consider the goals and values that we hold dear and then choose to invest in those types of relationships. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to chat and have tea with women who had four, five, six, eight kids. They were not crazy, weird, stressed out moms. They were fun, God-loving, transparent, witty, sane, and cool! I was blessed not only by their words, but by their example.

Sometimes as moms we can feel so overwhelmed by the things God has called us to, and that is OK. But perhaps the road we are traveling would feel less intimidating—less lonely—if we chose to walk with moms who love the Lord and our willing to pray, encourage, and share life with us. I would encourage you to pray for God to send such women into your life. You will be blessed! J

Prayer,                                                                                                                                                                

Heavenly Father, thank you that you did not call us to walk this life alone. You are always with us and you created us for fellowship with you and your people. Please help us to invest in friendships in which you are the center. Help us to be a reflection of you to the people we meet. May we encourage each other in love and truth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.