I Samuel 18- I'll be there for you!

Read I Samuel 18

 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.


Proverbs 18:24  A man who has friends must himself be friendly,^[a]
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother


If the the richness of ones life is measured in friends, then I am in the top 1%. (C'mon, that's funny, I couldn't resist) Truly, I have had the most amazing friends. I have had:


Friends you turn from teens to women with (including sisters)

college friends

friends you start a band with

 Friends you raise babies with

 friends that fly across the country, just to hold your babies

Friends that God moves you to another state to meet

Friends that are privy to your every thought through a constant stream of texts

Friends that will visit your kids in the hospital

and even Second generation friends

I know, you get the idea already! But really, this isn't even half the story. There are friends that get every joke I do, friends that help me think organized, friends that teach me about mental disorders, friends that teach me to watch what I say, prayer warrior friends and the list goes on and on. But before I paint an unrealistic picture, you have to know something. I wasn't always so appreciative of these friends. Although many of them were direct answers to prayers, some of them were indirect answers to prayers. You see, God has used these ladies and others like them to sometimes rub me the wrong way, and in doing so, they  have helped sand down some undesirably rough places. And as you would imagine, I haven't always wanted those places sanded down.  The truth is, that although all of these friends are dear friends to this day, we definitely had downs that came along with the ups. That is why I find this verse to be painfully true:

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
                       But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

The lessons that I learned from these ladies were sent to me straight from God. But, to be honest, sometimes I shot the messenger. With women, we all know, this is more common than not. I severed ties, gossiped, nursed wounds, and acted regrettably.  Yet over time, through the grace of God, this is not still the case.  I have grown to appreciate our differences instead of complaining about them. I have chosen to focus on my part of any relationship difficulty instead of playing the victim. And I have learned to see the beauty of God's character, woven in the world around me, through the women He has placed in my life.  

If you find yourself without these type of friends, than there are five things you can do:
 
1. Pray for God to bless you with friends that will stick closer than a brother. I have such cool stories from doing just this!
2. Show yourself friendly. No one is inviting you over? Invite them!
3. Realize that no one is perfect- If you are looking for the perfect friend, you will be very disappointed and lonely.
 4. Give grace as liberally as you desire it. Have you ever been late? Failed to answer your phone? Said the wrong thing? Forgot an important event? Yes. Then show grace when all of those things are done to you. And know also that God often uses that things that irritate us to point to the sin in our own lives.
5. Be transparent. - Invite friends over, even when your house is a mess. Be real. There is no other way to have kindred, life-,Jonathan friends without opening your heart and putting down the masks.

Here are some beautiful quotes I found from C.S. Lewis, and I had to add them... because every good blogger needs to quote good ol' Clive once and a while! :)


“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” 

I pray that we would all strive to be the friend that we long to have placing our relationship with our Heavenly Father, the only perfect friend, above all else, depending fully on Him, so that we can pour out His love to others! AMEN!