Sweet Friendships

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

   “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”” ~ Luke 10:38-42

“A man that has friends must show himself friendly…”~Proverbs 18:24

I have sticky note to-do lists plastered on the gear shift of my car. I don’t admit this fact of my busy life to play a strange game of one-upmanship (“oh yeah? Well I’m so busy that I check emails in the bathroom!”) with you, but rather to show how pitiful I’ve allowed my life to become. Busyness isn’t inherently wrong, and a good many things in life have been reaped out of steady hard work, say for example, penicillin. Our constant go-go-go mentality produces many wonderful things, but I am beginning to find that another wonderful thing in our lives may suffer as a result.

When is the last time you sat leisurely with a friend over coffee? Called a friend (unscheduled and not pre-planned) just to catch up? Built a tent out of sheets in the living room with your kids?

I hope you’re not like me. I hope when you realized that you were so focused on producing a finished product that you forgot about the relationships and friendships in your life, that you didn’t get a feeling of satisfaction when you scratched off “Call best friend today!” on your to-do list which of course, quickly faded to guilt because you realized that you’ve missed the point again…..like I did.

Cherish your friendships, as they are blessings from God. Learn to become comfortable with the feeling of not getting that last item of your agenda checked off. No one will die, I promise (if someone does, you probably should have made that item the top priority on your list! ;) You will, however, experience an abundant life, full of belly-aching laughs, heart-touching tears, and that unmistakable feeling in your soul of being truly known by someone. Make the choice today to invest in the gold stock of relationships. It’ll be a choice you never regret.

“Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”~ Proverbs 27:9

Yours in Christ,

Feylyn  Lewis