Mom To Mom, Woman To Woman, Friend To Friend

Mom To Mom, Woman To Woman, Friend To Friend

By Angie Ketcham

In this Spring publication of the Woman To Woman magazine, I will be talking about the Friendships of Women.  In preparing for this work, I have been in awe of the built-in strength that God has given us right within our sphere of influence…if only we, as women, will be willing to yield to our insecurities,  let the Holy Spirit fill us with the fruit of the Spirit, and listen to what the Holy Spirit would have us do to be an influence to someone else in our lives.  The problem is we so often get stuck on one of these areas that we lose the power to develop the great gift God has placed before us.

In my personal life, I have been able to live this out this past seven months.  A dear friend, who was in a tough situation with her three children, came to live in my home.  Although I had a few opportunities to get to know this sweet lady a few times prior to her moving in, I had never really “got to know her” as a friend, to really know the treasure she was as a person.  God gave me a “sister” that has laughed with me, cried with me (a lot), prayed with me, and encouraged me to better my marriage and relationship with my kids.  Although I was able to provide her with a home, she gave me so much more with her friendship.

Not many of us have the opportunity to bring another person into the home, but it got me thinking about other moms that are living in their own homes, with little children, some suffering from depression or other illnesses that debilitate them, and thinking that this is all there is to life.  They may or may not have great husbands that are their best friend and they can share everything with, but even so, God created women differently than men.  Men are problem solvers, and we need those also, but sometimes we ladies just need to share our hearts and know that someone else understands.

Another dear friend of mine recently decided to put into action what the Holy Spirit was speaking to her heart about the friendships of women.  Initially, she didn’t know what this looked like, but knew that God wanted to use her to minister to the younger ladies within her church.  She would people watch in her church and see young ladies from the youth group entering the church, walking the halls, and sitting in the sanctuary, with sadness in their eyes.  She noticed that these teens would go a whole morning without one woman talking to them.  She noticed young mothers with several little kids in tow, walking in the door late, that didn’t make it to church with their husbands that day, but there was no one around to help that momma get the kids to their classes, much less help momma get to hers without a crying baby.  She noticed older ladies, that had so much wisdom and knowledge to give and wanted to share, but there was not a setting that fostered this ministry.  So, my friend, with about six other ladies that God had burdened with the same heart, came together to form a new ministry within her church.  This ministry was formed to connect  women of all ages, one on one, to form new friendships and help each other on this journey we are all on.  And I believe this is the heart of God.

Perhaps you are a young person that is just beginning your journey of womanhood.  Maybe you are the young mother that feels trapped and needs a break from sleepless nights and toddler conversation.  Maybe you’ve raised your babies and trying to find that next stage in your journey (you know, the empty nesters).  Maybe you reached the place where you have much to offer someone through your experience of brokenness.  Why not ask God what He would have you do to get out of your comfort zone and form new friendships with those you never thought possible?  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you someone that you could begin to pray for.  Ask Him to provide opportunities to show God’s love to that person, to develop a friendship with them.  Then, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and be the hands and feet of Jesus through your friendship.  We all need friends that will be there when the going gets tough.  Let’s let God have the glory in the process.