I confess I have never been real great at building deep friendships. I am not sure if it's just the fear of being vulnerable with other people, or something else. Yet, the friendships I have kept over a long period of time, have added such value to my life.
With that said, my definition of friendship has changed drastically over the years. Most of my friendships early on were based off who I could have the most fun with, or who would join me in my crazy adventures.
Growing up I had a small group of people I would call my close friends. Of that group, there is really only one that I would still consider a close friend. Not because I don't like the others, or we had some terrible falling out.
Truth is, the reason why most of the other friendships faded, was I never took the time to develop those relationships into anything deeper than just a friendship of convenience.
Real friends, and real friendships are powerful, and life changing. Friendship is a gift from God. The Old Testament story of David and Jonathan shows an amazing story of two friends who were so committed to each other, that even when the entire world seemed to push them apart, they still cared about each other, still encouraged each other, still told each other the truth.
It's a scary thing to commit to stand with someone, no matter what. To choose to be there even when you're tired; to speak hard truths when you'd rather be silent; to forgive even when it really hurts.
Yet, these are the friendships that truly help us grow. The friendships that carry us through the most difficult times. These friendships are truly powerful.
So allow me to encourage you with this thought, if you haven't put the effort into building some strong, lasting friendships, consider giving it a try. If you haven't allowed yourself to let your guard down long enough to let some real friends in, consider giving it a try.
Choose to be a real friend, and allow them to be a real friend to you. It is a gift from God, and it will change your life for the better.
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