Cross-generational Friendships

Cross-Generational Friendships

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

“I just don’t know if I’m needed,” a friend confessed to our circle of leaders who run a local moms’ group. Older than most of us by twenty years, my friend wondered if what she had to offer was still valuable to young moms.

The women around the table, myself included, looked at her as if we could not believe what she was saying. We immediately came to her defense, telling her that yes, she was valuable, that she had so much to offer all of us. We explained that we relied on her wisdom as a mom who now had adult children and appreciated her wise counsel when it came to raising older children and teenagers. She gave a timid smile as we sincerely sought to alleviate the doubt she was feeling and give value to her current station in life.

I’ve thought often about my friend and her concern that she may not be relevant anymore. It’s a comment I’ve heard frequently from older people when it comes to mentoring and friendships, especially with a younger generation. I believe this is an absolute lie. We need friendships with those who are in a different stage of life! There is a richness in learning from someone who is a little further down the road of life than we are, just as there is in reaching back to those who are coming up behind us.

Scripture teaches that we should be telling the next generation how God has worked in our lives. Offering friendship to those older or younger than us allows us to do just that. My older friend can share from her own life the wonderful things that God has done, bolstering my own faith. And I, in turn, can tell a younger friend about struggles I have overcome. We were made to have friends of different ages and in all stages of life—they offer a unique richness and value to our lives that can’t be provided by those who are in the same place we currently are.

— Kendra

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Think of a friend who is older (or younger) than you. Tell them how much you value their friendship.