When thinking of friendships, so many wonderful ladies come to mind. I have truly been blessed with great friends through the years. My favorite movie that portrays girl friendships is Steel Magnolias. I laugh and cry with those ladies every single time I watch it! I also love the friendship between Mary and Elizabeth as told in Luke 1:24-56.
This was a friendship between two very different women who shared an amazing bond through their pregnancies and soon-to-be motherhood. Elizabeth was old, had the stigma of being barren in the community, and was married; while Mary was young and unmarried. I find it interesting that the Angel Gabriel not only proclaimed the birth of Jesus…our Savior, Redeemer, THE Son of God, but he also announced Elizabeth’s pregnancy to Mary. And Mary went in haste to Elizabeth, her relative and friend.
Let’s think of Elizabeth for a moment…she had kept herself in seclusion for the first 5 months. From some of my reading, it was more of a custom for a woman to seclude herself at the end of pregnancy, but Elizabeth hid herself away in the beginning. One thought of mine (totally my opinion because the Bible does not say) is that Elizabeth was concerned that people would laugh and think she was crazy until she reached a place of actually “showing” her pregnancy. After all, she was known as old and barren and when John leaped in her womb at Mary’s visit, that may have been the first movement felt. Can you imagine what a gender reveal party would have looked like for either Elizabeth or Mary…everyone gather around and guess what the Angel said!
Both women shared a common bond that no other two women shared…the Angel Gabriel had pronounced both pregnancies and both of their sons had very specific Kingdom roles in this earth. I believe that these friends praised God together, laughed together, prayed together, and expressed their uncertainties together. What a great picture of friendship!
I recently asked a few of my friends in different age groups what they value most in friendship today. The answers I received were trust, acceptance, and honesty and truth. Let’s consider each of these separately:
Trust – this is actually very important in all close relationships in our lives, not just friendships. Our close friends will be those who we trust and who trust us. This means that we do not repeat secrets or struggles, and that we do not say anything to others that we wouldn’t say directly to them or mind getting repeated to them. We guard them and our friendship. Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
This isn’t just a good practice for close friends, but in community environments as well. Problems can be discussed and focused on in group settings when trying to find solutions, but it is best not to talk negatively about a person who is not present in group settings. This helps to preserve our friendships in community settings such as church and work. Believe me, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way before!
Acceptance – we all need friends that truly know us and do not judge. We also need friends whose acceptance is not based on what we do for them. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times…” It is so wonderful and freeing to have girlfriends that you can bare your innermost thoughts, frustrations, etc. to and know they will not think differently of you.
Honesty and truth combined with grace – close friends usually know how to speak to each other in ways that are not offensive. Occasionally there might be rifts and disagreements, but these are always worked through. Honest friends will speak wisdom and concern when they see their friend making damaging decisions or choices. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
I believe it is important that we all have friendships in our lives and hopefully, this blog will help us in cultivating and nurturing great relationships. Thank God for girlfriends!
(Shown in picture L-R: Missy, Brittney, Sara, Michelle, Tonya, Traton)