Getting Desperate

One evening, while especially sad and missing my close by gal pals somethin’ fierce, an idea popped into my head. When my husband returned home later that evening, I shared this bit of brilliance with him. In an effort to find friends, I would make a sign that read, “Desperate Woman Seeks Friends!” and hold it at the corner of our front yard by the street.

My husband stared at me wide-eyed.

“Are you really going to do that?” he said.

“I just might!” I responded.

To be truthful, I was every bit of desperate to find another woman with whom I could talk and laugh and share troubles with in person. Yet even my doer self couldn’t find one.

In an effort to find friends, I’ve swung the bat and missed the ball. A lot. I’ve faced rejection a lot. So what’s a girl to do when she’s plumb tuckered from trying to make friends but knows she still needs them?

She keeps trying.

Because the only surefire way to know you’ll never make friends is to never try making friends.

I’ve learned a good deal about how to persevere through the often-discouraging-yet-still-worth-it world of getting friendship wrong, missed connections, bringing the extra-awkward, making a mess of relationships, and, by the grace of the good Lord above, getting it imperfectly right in a way that has led to lasting, meaningful friendships.

Is it easier said than done? Yep. But is it absolutely doable? Oh yes. Jesus, who was perfect in all ways, had friends. He had His twelve apostles, and within that He had his closest friends Peter, James, and John (Matthew 10:2–3; Mark 5:37). Of course, He had other friends whom He crossed paths with during His ministry, such as Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and Mary Magdalene.

If Jesus walked this planet with friends, you and I need to do the same. And it’s God’s heart for all of us to do the same, to have our people. You are not the exception to that.

One more time for the person in the back: You are not the exception to that.

You never know how or when God may orchestrate a change in circumstances for the better.

My real-life challenge to you over these five days?

Don’t give up. Don’t close off your heart.

Do keep trying.

Pray:

Father, I know having good friends is part of your plan for me. Please open my heart, lead me, and encourage me as I keep trying.