Be Her Friend

Do you know a struggling young woman or a teen mom? Be her friend.

Take her to coffee. Listen as she shares her heart. Encourage her. Point her to where true love is found … in Jesus.

Tell her to pray for her future husband … it’ll help her to think of what she longs for in a new way. My co-written book Praying for Your Future Husband is for young women who’ve done everything right, and those who haven’t. It offers hope despite wrong choices. You can pre- order it before the May release.

If you know a teen mom … help her on her journey. She needs help, hope, encouragement, advice, and a helping hand. Buy her a copy of Life, Interrupted: The Scoop on Being a Teen Mom. It’ll speak to her heart from someone who’s be there.

Finally, share your story. We’ve all messed up. God has helped us in numerous ways. Speak to her and tell of His goodness. Remind her that someone loves her more than she can imagine, and then give her a hug and tell her you love her, too.

Friends We Will Love Forever

In my last post, I was getting ready to attend a writer’s conference where a special friend would be missing. I felt her absence as soon as I arrived, but God allowed some sweet moments with other writer friends who missed Ethel as much as I did. I know a small group of us will always treasure the impromptu time of sharing memories of our precious mentor after dinner on the first night. Once we got past the sadness, we did what we knew Ethel would want us to do—we began enjoying what God had for us at the conference, including time with old and new friends. 

You might recognize one new friend that I made. That’s right; Ashley Mays and I met in person for the first time. We had a great time getting to know each other, worshipping together, and being part of the same group during a fun ice-breaker game involving Play Doh. 

Instead of being a sad time, the conference was an incredible five days, and a huge part of it included enjoying the unique bond that we have a Christians. Isn’t it amazing how we can only see certain people once a year and still feel like family, or meet a sister in Christ for the first time and feel a connection right away? Why do you think this is? Maybe this bond comes from the reality that we will be spending eternity together. 

Today, take some time to thank God for the friends that you truly will love forever, and for those you are still waiting to meet in person.  

Missing a Friend

In a few days, I will be attending a writer’s conference that has become a high point of my year. This is the place where, in addition to learning and getting inspired with new ideas, I reconnect with friends that I rarely get to see. This year, one very dear friend will be missing.

I met Ethel at my very first writer’s conference. In addition to having writing in common, she knew members of my family, so that created a special bond. Over the years, she critiqued my stories, I took her workshops, and she modeled what it meant to write and live for God’s glory. As we got to know each other more deeply, I trusted her with struggles and she became one of my most faithful prayer warriors. My mind is full of moments when she took time out of her busy schedule to pray with me, and responded to e-mails with words of love and wisdom that always included Scripture and reminders that God was at work. She was one of the first friends to greet me at the conference each year, with a long, tight hug and the most sincere, “Oh, it’s so good to see you, my dear.” I always made a point of sitting at her table for lunch or dinner, and we never left the grounds without spending some one-on-one time catching up. If I had grown in some area, she let me know, constantly reminding me how far I had come. 

Two years ago, I attended one of her classes just to hear her soothing voice and her beautiful teaching style. The workshop was on poetry, and I’m not even a poet, but I knew Ethel had been battling cancer and that one year I would attend the conference and she wouldn’t be there.

This is that year; Ethel passed away in October and will not be at the writer’s conference to greet me with a hug. I know I am not the only one who will feel her absence, and that many attendees join me in considering her one of their mentors, but that won’t make me miss her gentle, wise, uplifting presence any less. 

At the same time, missing Ethel reminds me of all the reasons why I thank God for the gift of her friendship. She was one of those friends who made me want to be more passionate about God, taught me a different definition of success, and loved me right where I happened to be at the moment. She was the kind of friend I want to be.

Have you ever had a friendship like this? If so, thank God for it, whether this friend is still around or not. What have your most special friends taught you about God, yourself, and what it truly means to be a good friend?

Take some time this week to tell your most precious friends what they mean to you.