Be The Person…..

Wondering how I would fit writing a blog post into this already very BUSY day…..I quickly glanced at my Facebook to see if a friend’s granddaughter had been born yet and saw on her wall this incredibly inspiring quote from one of my favorite authors…….Jennie Allen.

Here are Jennie’s words that prompted this beautiful artwork that she posted. “I hear from so many of you that you wish you had deeper relationships or more encouragement in your life or people who made you love Jesus more. Guess what team– we are it! We need to be the good friends, the mentors, the dream releasers, the cheerleaders! (Thanks @embersherman for the art.) Who has been that for you? Now it’s your turn. Ask someone to coffee and go be the person you wish was sitting across from you.”

Today I had the privilege of attending two events with incredible women. The first was a summer bible study with about 20 women in my community that want to share time together and grow in their walk of faith. Some of these women are long time friends and some of them are new friends. All of these gals are women I would trust with my heart, women who are wise and would be willing to listen to my story and be a faithful and true kind of friend. The second event was a gathering of friends who have known each other for over 20 years. We have celebrated major life events together-having babies, raising children, attending graduations, planning weddings and welcoming grand babies. We have cried together and felt compassion for one another during times of stress, loss and hard life circumstances. We have walked together through conflict and sorrow. We have protected one another, served together, worked on projects together and grown together in our faith. Deep relationships take time. Both of these groups of women filled with friends old and new are the hands and feet of Jesus to me. They bring me encouragement when I am struggling. They challenge me to take risks. They cheer me on when I am stepping out to try new things. They are the women who push me to grow in my walk with Jesus. They are my prayer warriors. They are my forever friends.

Women long for fellowship and belonging. We long for significance and purpose. We are relational beings and we desire connection and deep relationships that are meaningful. Our joy, contentment and happiness seems to come more consistently when we focus on BEING that kind of person that we long to have as our friend. Happiness is what we pray for….FRIENDS are God’s answer. So let’s “Be the Person you Wish was Sitting Across from You”. Be an active listener, ask deep questions, share God’s wisdom. Be a cheerleader and an encourager. Be a servant leader for those you know and see what opportunities God opens up for  friendship, mentoring and serving together. Get out there and find people who are longing to grow. Take Jennie Allen’s challenge to Be the Person you Wish was sitting Across from you!!!

Here are some resources that might be helpful for you.  Jennie Allen has written some fantastic books and she has an online community called the IF Gathering.