Friendship

So I posted earlier about how thankful I was that God had brought me some amazing women that have walked along side of me and shown me what it means to have real godly friendships...

Leah P. who lives in California that I have never met is just one of them. It is totally God how he brought us together and I have faith that one day we will meet :) I had contacted her to talk to her about some things that I knew she was going through and really felt like God was telling me to tell her about my past and that he would use me to encourage her. I was nervous because how do you start a conversation with someone you have never met or even talked to and tell her that God told me to call her? The call I think lasted a couple of hours and was the start to an amazing friendship via phone calls, facebook, texting,letters (more her to me I am bad about writing letters lol) and emails! I can honestly say that only God can form such an amazing friendship between two women that have never met. I may have been an encouragement to her that night and months to follow but God has used her many times to encourage me as well. I really do believe that God would never allow our paths to cross if he never intended us to meet! I am truly thankful for her and I know that this is a friendship that will continue to grow until we are old :)

A couple of years ago I was co-leading a group for women who had been sexually/physically/emotionally/verbally abused and the leader was someone that is truly an amazing woman of God. For two years she told me that I had to get together with her sister because we were exactly alike and she knew that we would get along. Then just a year later I was approached to lead another group for college age women who had been abused and the co-leader was going to be Jenny S. (the sister to my friend) I was excited because her sister always talked so highly of her but was nervous that I would fall short some how. From that day on it was like looking in a mirror our personalities were so similar it was crazy. We both talk waaaayyy too much so our phone calls can last a really long time lol. We both have an amazing love for God and our kids drive us crazy. This past year we both had some really hard struggles and it would be easy to steer each other in the wrong direction instead we both continually steered each other back to God. I have never experienced a friendship with someone that has walked my life (a little different but very similar) and we both choose to be better than what has happened to us. I am so thankful that God put us in that group together because it was a start to a friendship that has grown so much in the last 5 years.

I really believe that yes we are to always go to him first (which I still have to remind myself or a certain friend does :) ) but I am amazed that he created us to be in fellowship with others. Jesus had his 12 disciples but he still had his close circle that he went to. Jesus had friends that he loved, that lifted him up in prayer and walked along side him. I am so blessed that God has given me lots of women..ones that pray for me and I for them and ones who are older that I can look to for wisdom and guidance and ones that are in my close circle that lift me up and steer me back to GOD!!