Intentional Friendship

I have really great friends.  I have women in my life that I can turn to when I need support, that I am pleased to encourage through their joys and hard times, that I laugh with, hug, celebrate with.

These friendships, these people... this is something very valuable to me.

I have to nurture my relationships if they are going to be strong.  I have to make the effort.  I have to be intentional.

To have a friend and be a friend is what makes life worthwhile.  -Unknown

It's a challenge sometimes.  Life can be so busy and hectic and stressful.  Working full time, involvement and commitment at church, kid schedules, husband schedule, running errands, appointments, meetings, tasks...

How am I supposed to find time to get together with my friends?  How am I supposed to stay connected?

One of the things I really value about my church is that the people there are my Ohana - my intentional, chosen family.

Be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.  - W. Clement Stone

But like with intentional friendships, and with Ohana, and with any relationship of any value... intention is key.

Intention.  Purpose.  Determination.  Deliberate.

Have you ever noticed that you have some friends that you can lose touch with and maybe you don't speak or have contact for a period of time and then you reconnect and... it's like you never lost touch?  You talk and laugh and carry on just like you used to.  But have you also noticed that if you don't make an effort to stay connected after that, it just slips away again?

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. you know that your name is safe in their mouth.  - Jess C. Scott (The Intern)

What about the people that you truly value?  How often do you drop an email or text just to say "Hi, I'm thinking of you today!"?  How much effort do you put into issuing invitations?

Or do you sit and wait?  Wait for someone to reach out to you... wait for someone to invite you... Wait for someone else to claim you as their friend.

Intentional friendships.  Purposeful friendships.  Determined friendships.  Deliberate friendships.

Those are the relationships that I want in my life.  That I need in my life.  And I'm willing to put in the work that is required to keep those connections strong and healthy.

I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together.  -Jon Katz