On Sunday evening, we had a full house. There were eighteen women crammed in my home for the church's ladies' social. It was a fun evening with great food, as always, lots of laughter and talk. We could divide between two rooms during the meal, but afterwards for the "serious" time, everyone squeezed in the sun room filling every available chair and parking on the floor.
I picked the topic of Christian friendship because this is an area that I need growth. I'm close as I can be with my daughter which is a wonderful blessing, but God has also placed me in a local church with women who can help me in my walk and vice versa. That's not going to happen if I hold myself back and only let down my guard but so much. Sometimes it's conscious and sometimes not. Maybe that's why online friendships are a bit easier because you reveal even less of yourself in what you write.
We had a great discussion. The women were candid, open, and I think we all wanted to grow in our relationships with each other. We didn't come away with a "to do" list on how to achieve this. I'm glad we didn't because friendship is dynamic. But I believe by being together and talking things out, we did grow closer. It helped to realize that we all had struggles in this area. It also helped to get a glimpse of the inside beyond what you normally see on a Sunday morning.
I may be biased, but this is a great group of women who are full of grace. I'm nuts if I think I need to keep my guard up to keep myself safe. So I'm looking forward to letting down the wall brick by brick and seeing what God will do.
I picked the topic of Christian friendship because this is an area that I need growth. I'm close as I can be with my daughter which is a wonderful blessing, but God has also placed me in a local church with women who can help me in my walk and vice versa. That's not going to happen if I hold myself back and only let down my guard but so much. Sometimes it's conscious and sometimes not. Maybe that's why online friendships are a bit easier because you reveal even less of yourself in what you write.
We had a great discussion. The women were candid, open, and I think we all wanted to grow in our relationships with each other. We didn't come away with a "to do" list on how to achieve this. I'm glad we didn't because friendship is dynamic. But I believe by being together and talking things out, we did grow closer. It helped to realize that we all had struggles in this area. It also helped to get a glimpse of the inside beyond what you normally see on a Sunday morning.
I may be biased, but this is a great group of women who are full of grace. I'm nuts if I think I need to keep my guard up to keep myself safe. So I'm looking forward to letting down the wall brick by brick and seeing what God will do.
I'm trying to be intentional in developing relationships with the women in my church, too. Online friendships can be wonderful, but they shouldn't be a substitute for living, breathing relationships among the women in my local church.
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