I recently visited my college-age daughter and spent a beautiful fall day making tons of memories. We laughed, we talked, we made plans for the future. It was a great day, but this one piece of paper stuck on her bedroom door was definitely one of the highlights for this momma, “There is nothing impossible to those who will try.”
As our children grow up and start making their lives their own, we as parents learn carefully to guide them as we go a little at a time, we hold our breath as we trust them more and more, we allow them to make their own decisions and pray that the influences around them are positive and healthy and leading them on a path that honors God.
Because the people in our lives make a difference in our lives.
The people in our lives can build us up or they tear us down.
They can support us and guide us in a good way or they can lead us towards harm, hurt, darkness.
They can make us feel loved, included, appreciated or they can make us feel like we are not enough or a bother or an afterthought.
I’ve had many conversations about friendships and the beauty in the bonds formed. But I’ve also had heart-breaking discussions when there was the void of companionship, when betrayal or insensitivity took over, when harsh words hurt feelings.
And, a lot of those talks took place with my girls as they were growing up and figuring out how to maneuver the art of forming friendships. The idea that not everyone would be their friend was a hard lesson to learn at times. I encouraged them to be kind to everyone, but to be careful who they chose to be their friends.
Because the people in our lives make a difference in our lives.
The friends we choose can be the very best of blessings.
They can add so much to our lives. They pour into us and love us.
They soothe our souls, they bring peace and joy and laughter, they walk with us into the good times as well the challenging times.
I was fortunate that God gave me some of the most beautiful and encouraging friends who were cheering me on through those years I was raising my girls! I instinctively used those special souls as examples of what true friendship should look like for my girls.
They might have been listening to my words during our heart-to-heart chats, but I prayed they understood by watching the way God was using my friends to bless me, the way they treated me, the way they talked to me, and the way they let me lean on them, time and time again! Their love spilled over into our entire family, and many of them continue to fill our hearts and lives even today.
So, here we are. On a random Saturday in October during my daughter’s senior of college, in a stressful season of a lot of unknowns, as I read a few words written on post-it note pressed to her bedroom door, I was reminded that God takes care of every little thing just as much as He takes care of the big things. He gave this momma a little bit of peace and made my heart smile by reassuring me that He has put just the right people in my sweetie’s life to support her, to push her, to encourage her, to love her..to be her friend. She might have to learn that not everyone in her circle will always be in her corner, but I am so glad she has friends like this to hype her up at this point in her life. If notes like this are written to encourage each other, can you imagine their conversations!
Thank you, God, for all those friends who love us, who encourage us, who believe in us, who are there for us! And, may we be able to return those blessings and be good friends to those we love and those who need to know Your love as well.
Because the people in our lives make a difference in our lives.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)