The Blessing of Friendship

You know what God has taught me this past year that's kind of radical? He taught me that friends are gifts. Relationships, all of them, are carefully crafted in His will for our growth, for our good, for His glory. They are truly never ours and hardly ever meant to be permanent in this lifetime. That is kind of radical.

But have you ever thought about that? Instead of being angry at God when a relationship ends or when a friend moves or even when death takes a loved one, maybe we should be extremely grateful that God gave us the opportunity to know them at all.

To truly trust God is to be prepared for Him to take away everything. Even a loved one. Though this can be extremely hard to grasp and even harder to put into action, I have found great freedom in trusting God with all of my relationships.

Think of a time when you tried to control a relationship. Maybe tried to make a friendship look the way it did at its peak. Maybe held on to a romantic relationship longer than necessary? How did it go? In my experience, controlling relationships usually ends in heartbreak or confusion. The very thing I was trying to avoid when 'controlling the relationship' usually comes to pass.

Sometimes God is telling you to just let go. And you know what? It can be extremely easier to trust God because after a few times, you begin to realize that He truly does have our best interests at heart. We find that the break-up was necessary because God had someone even better just waiting. Or maybe it was necessary because God is that someone you needed to fall in love with again. We find that those friendships did need to end, or merely to look different, so that God could bring in new friendships that would be even sweeter than the previous. We find that those wise mentors must move away so that new mentors can take their place with new perspective and different knowledge.

New Blessings This Year

There are plenty of reasons God brings people into our lives and then takes others away. He wants us to grow through those relationships. He wants others to grow by knowing us. He wants to show you different aspects of His character that are evident in certain people. He wants to expand your horizon and open your mind to loving new kinds of people. He wants you to trust Him. His love is so sweet and worth it.