Precious Gems

I have a friend. I haven't known this person a long period of time. Less than two years, I'd say. But lately, I have been getting to know them better. This friend challenges me. This friend supports me. This friend doesn't always politely agree with me, but broadens my thinking. This friend encourages me in my endeavors. This friend is beyond unique. This friend is Godly. And therefore I strive to know this person better and better!

The pastor at my church was talking this week about evaluating the friends in our lives. I have been doing a lot of that over the past few years, and even more so over the past few months. You see, life is short! And the value and blessing of friendship is priceless. But we have to be honest with ourselves and use discernment concerning those whom we choose to "run" with. Our friends are often times a reflection of ourselves. And I am learning to not only choose my friends more wisely than I ever have in my life, and I am also learning how to release ones that are harmful to my soul. Tough lesson to learn and even tougher to put into action, but wise nonetheless.

One of the number one requirements I have for those I choose to draw closest to these days is DEPTH! That's a popular term around my house. We use it a lot. It says a lot about a person. I want to surround myself with people of great depth. There is a massive crowd of people who are "as shallow as spit". Everything in their world is surface and hollow and depthless. They do not challenge those around them. They are close-minded to change and improvement. They live on celebrity gossip and the latest fashions. I want the crowd that I "run with" to be deep. People who care about others. People who strive to know God more closely each and every day. People who spread joy and hope to a lost world. People are always seeking to grow and change and improve. People who love...their God, each other, lost souls, and reach out to them all.

Take a look at your crowd. Who is in it? Let me challenge you to draw joyful, positive, alive, challenging, spiritual people of great depth closest to you. It will change your life. You will then be better equipped to touch more and more lives in a more positive and meaningful way. If your circle of friends refuels you, if they cause you to grow closer to God, if they propel you forward, you can then be of greater use to the rest of the world. Don't take these words to mean that you close the rest of the world out. NO!!! We are called to reach out to them, to everyone. But you need your closest friends to be DEEP and thus, probably few. Jesus had VERY VERY few He was truly close to. Check it out. He reached out to ALL, but only drew a couple very close.

Make some time to reflect on your friendships. Thank God for those who continuously bring joy, love, depth, and growth into your life. Always be looking for more of these people to know, to learn from, to engage. Friendship is a powerful and mighty asset in your Christian walk. I thank my God every day for the amazing friends He has brought into my life. I am a better Christian woman each day because of their depth and their Godly spirits. Thank God for the people like that in your life. If you don't have any, pray for them, seek them out, beg God to open your eyes and your heart to those with whom He wants you to connect. Like I am doing with the friend I mentioned at the beginning... be proactive, be purposeful, have intent to get to know those people better, to learn from them, and to draw them near. When I run across an extremely rare and precious gem like the friend I mentioned, I see it for the miraculous blessing that it is, and embrace it. I pray you will too.