Circle Of Friends

Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear and increase learning,  And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel...."  NKJV


Tonight was Tuesday.  Not such a big deal.  Yet I felt an emptiness this particular day of the week.  In my big, mega church it is hard to find friends that you see on a regular basis.  Our church has what it calls "small groups", which are it's way of breaking the membership down into small "congregations" of people who meet regularly away from Sunday worship.  Yet, for people like sweetheart and I, this is often not feasible because of our chaotic schedule.  He never knows when he will be flying so we can't commit as a couple to one night a week.  


Because I miss the regular fellowship of Christian women, I attend a woman's Bible study called The Journey that our church provides.  It meets every Tuesday night for 6-12 weeks depending on the course of study you choose.  Once the study is done however, you have to wait until the next unit starts up again which is roughly quarterly.  So you may go a couple of months between sessions.  I have studied Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Lysa Terkeurst, Kerry and Chris Shook, and Max Lucado.  Each time I attend a study, it leaves me hungry for more.  I love the homework, the knowledge gained, and the weekly study time.  But more than anything, I love the women I meet through these groups. But right now we are in the gap between sessions and I am having Journey withdrawal.    


These women come in all ages and walks of life.  Some of newly married, some are widowed, some are single, some are divorced, some are retired, some are workaholics like me.  There are wildly diverse income levels, education levels, and spiritual levels.  There are talkers and there are listeners.  There are those who think they know everything and those who know very little.  Some of the studies have been enjoyable and some have been tedious. Some have light reading and some, like the Beth Moore studies, have daily homework.   All in all, though, I have learned something from every study I have taken.


I do not make friends easily.  I envy (sorry, I know it's one of those sins I struggle with) those who have had friends from childhood.  I listen to women talk of "girls night out" and "getaway weekends" with their girlfriends.  Sorority reunions, old college roommates, your best friend since the first grade type of friend.  Because our family moved frequently, I was never in any place long enough to develop what I would term lifelong friends. Because of choices I made, both good and bad, I didn't get to go to college the traditional way.  No dorms, no sorority, no time to develop friends. I have, through facebook. found some friends from some of the various times in my life.  But at 50, the days of developing a lifelong friendship have slipped by me.  


I have a deeper understanding of what true friends are these days.  The ones who are there when my life is crumbling around me.  The ones who are there when the sun shines bright upon my day.  The ones who forgive my selfishness and forgive the fact that days and weeks and months go by without me remembering to call or write.  Yet they love me just the same.  And these women I meet in these studies are quick to offer me friendship.  It matters not that we are at different stages in our lives.  It matters not that I am a struggling Christian who has calluses on her knees.  It matters not that we are all at different points in our lives.  It only matters that we are sisters in the family of Christ.  They lift me when I fall and they hold up their hands in praise when I succeed.  They call out to me when they need help.  They don't ask for my worthiness to pray on their behalf.  They only ask that I stand in the gap for them in their moment of darkness or their moment of joy.  What a wonderful group of women I have met in this second half of my life.  From across the country and around the world, women I have met and women I will never meet, are calling me friend.  All because of our brother Jesus Christ and the love He has for us.  Binding us together as we learn and gain wisdom about His will for us.  My circle of friends grows larger each day and I am grateful.  These are real friends.  My Abba has blessed me by giving me a "girls night out" that has filled my heart with happiness.