Be Willing To Get Close

Be Willing to Get Close

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

I first met Beth when I joined the leadership team of my local moms’ group. A decade or so my senior, Beth is a few steps ahead of me in raising children and in life in general. I love seeing her example as a mom and appreciate her willingness to answer questions about kids and teens. The realness with which she approaches me and the other younger moms is encouraging and honest.

Beth is frank about her life experiences and shares openly with others who may be going through a difficult or challenging time. She is quick to encourage and offer to pray for you. She is confident in who she is and loves to call out the gifting of others, encouraging women to pursue what God has for them. Beth has shown me what it looks like to allow others to be near in friendship. She doesn’t keep people at a distance but is kind toward those who need a friend, inviting women into her circle and loving them well.

If we want to have close friendships and be supportive of others around us, we must model our lives after Scripture. What makes a good friend? Someone who is humble, gentle, patient, and allows for others to be imperfect and have faults, while still deeply loving them. This sounds amazing, but most of us have probably had a different experience at some point in our lives. Often the world and our culture are quick to judge and approach others with harshness, while keeping others at a distance, but we, as Christians, are called to something much more sacrificial. We are called to love others. And to do this, we must let others get near to us. We must allow them to see our faults and mistakes, along with our successes. We must ask for help or prayer when we need it. And we can accomplish all of this by being willing to get close, by being comfortable in sharing even our messy parts, and by listening as others share theirs in return.

— Kendra

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Share a need or concern you have with a friend and ask them to pray for you.