Workplace Friends

Workplace Friends

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

When I started working after graduate school, I was nervous. Having just completed my studies, I wondered if I’d have what it takes to do a good job in my first full-time position. On the day I walked into my new office, I met the two women who would become my closest confidantes and greatest support during my time there.

Trina and Tommy could not have been more different from me. Trina was from the South, single, ten years older than I, independent, and self-assured. Tommy was fifteen years older than I, a divorced mother with older children. On the surface, we may have looked ill-suited for becoming friends. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Over the couple of years I was at my job, these two were quick to offer a listening ear, answer questions, and encourage me when I was afraid. We learned all about one another’s lives, listened through our struggles—both work and personal—and cheered each other on in everything. They did not belittle me or my insecurities but modeled their own confidence in a way that made me feel like I could be confident as well. They never laid out my weaknesses to others, and they were quick to come to my defense when necessary. I learned during my time there how to be in community with women in the workplace, and I am forever grateful to Trina and Tommy for being examples of welcoming others who were very different from them.

Often in our world today it is easy to spend our time with people who are just like us—who believe the same things, look the same, and are in the same stage of life. But Paul’s reminder to the Galatians is one for us today as well—the reminder that no matter where we come from or who we are, we are all one in Christ Jesus. And often, these differences can make our lives and relationships richer.

— Kendra

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Reach out to someone who, on the surface, appears to be different from you in some way.