She found herself out of practice. Like trying to sit at the piano again and struggling to find notes after years of not playing, she seemed out of tune when she tried to practice friendship. Her heart held her back from giving her all to the keys before her and making beautiful music. Oh, she had many acquaintances. Company was not lacking, but her God-given desire for deep connections felt starved. She closed her eyes and prayed, “Teach me, Lord, how to start again.”
Real friendship. . . . Authentic. Vulnerable. Deep. Trustworthy. Christ-centered.
- We are created for relationships.
…but often life becomes busy. We devote time to our children for a season. Our homes and careers demand our minutes and leave us with little margin to make time for friendship.
- We are created for deep connections.
…but relationships get messy, and we’d rather not get messy again. We get hurt, so we protect our hearts. We trade being authentic for achievement. We limit ourselves to surface relationships so we don’t suffer heartache. And while acquaintances continue to accumulate, we miss the gift of a deeper walk with a few close friends . . . the gift of being true to ourselves and inviting others to do the same.
This is my story.
Can you relate?
Pulling Away after Experiencing Hurt
On the other side of two hurtful relationships, I found myself pulling away.
Keeping to myself.
Pouring my time and energy into my family.
And honestly–I am grateful for that season of special closeness to my family and the Lord. I needed some time and space—just to be with God for a while and heal from my hurt as I learned and grew. And I am grateful for that time concentrated on my boys as I know they will fly my nest soon.
But like God opening the door to Noah’s ark and telling him it was time to come out—that his set-apart season was over—so too my beautiful season of being pulled away was not meant to be forever. I learned a lot in my ark about authentic friendship. About boundaries, trust, and vulnerability. Also during that time, God put very special friends in my life who pulled me right out of my shell and showed me about Real Authentic Healthy Friendship.
Understanding Authentic Friendship
Here is what I learned and would love to share with you over the next seven weeks:
Healthy biblical friendship doesn’t just happen. It is something we must pursue and practice by taking proactive steps according to God’s principles.
This is the truth: You can have deep connections ordained by God himself! You are worthy to be loved. To belong. But you must practice . . . you must put yourself out there . . . and you must do it God’s way.
Welcome to “Authentic Friendship,” the next series from Treasured Ministries. Over the next seven weeks and on Facebook Live you will . . .
- Discover God’s principles for practicing healthy friendship as you consider various passages on friendship in the Bible.
- Be inspired to pray for God’s divine connections in your life and how to recognize them.
- Gain wisdom on how to discern unhealthy friendships and set boundaries.
- Find courage to be vulnerable with others in order to create deeper connections.
- Abandon the insecurities that tell you to chase endless shallow friendships and find strength from the deep connections and accountability that can be found in a small group.
Looking forward to getting started? Why not invite someone to join you by forwarding this to a friend? That’s a great way to begin!
Blessings,
Aliene and the Treasured Ministries Team
Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.
