I Miss My Friends

Note: Thanks to your prayers and encouragement, my doctor's appointment went as well as could be expected last week. I wasn't exactly overjoyed, but I wasn't terrified, either. To God be the glory!

I've been sick for over a week now. It started out as a fever and lethargy, then other ailments started piling themselves on top. If you're going to have a party, you might as well invite everyone, right? That being said, I have tried to stay at home and get better as much as possible. Of course there were things that needed to get done, but much of my weekly schedule of activities was put on hold. I missed a couple of Bible studies, a Pampered Chef seminar, Ignite (college and career group) and church on Sunday, just to name the regular activities. And now, on the ninth day of my hermitage, I have come to this conclusion: I miss my friends.

I have spent most of my life spoiled with friendships. I am blessed in this area, and I thank God for it. But because of that, as with most things that I have an abundance of, I have the tendency to take it for granted. More often than not, it feels as it my friendships are wearing me down instead of building me up. This is due in part to the fact that I am an introvert at heart, and I rebuild my energy by being alone, not with a crowd. I also have a tendency to overbook my life, so I am always running from one thing to another and I never have a chance to recover. The other aspect of this is that relationships ARE hard work if you're serious about them, and they do take effort. But they are definitely worth it. None of this is a revelation to me because I've known it for a while, but what is new for me is the sadness I feel from being away from good Christian fellowship for only a week.

I miss the light-hearted banter and serious discussions at Ignite. I miss the close bond of relationship and sharing in the joys and sorrows of the other ladies' lives from my women's Bible study, which occasionally does get around to studying the Bible. I miss the wisdom shared by brothers and sisters in Christ who have been beaten by the storms of life and have survived to come out stronger at my small group from church. And maybe most of all, I miss going to church and worshipping as the body of Christ and learning the Word of God taught by seasoned stewards of it. I miss the encouragement. I miss the fellowship. I miss the people who bless me by helping me through life, and I miss being used by God to be a blessing to others.

I hope you realize this isn't a "woe is me" post. My purpose is to get you thinking about your own life and the activities in it, and to see the blessings you have. My other purpose is to help you see if you have an area that's lacking and that needs filled. If you are a Christian, Beloved, than you need godly fellowship on a regular basis. At least once a week, if not more. As you can see, I pretty much fill up my schedule with as much fellowship as I can cram in, but I realize that's not for everyone. And, by the way, just going to activities does not count as fellowship. You have to engage, and be honest and open with people. The most important thing, however, is to go with the mindset of serving others, not to get something out of it for yourself. If that is your attitude, than you will probably be disappointed. Go to church thinking, "how can I bless other through my words and actions?" Go to Bible study realizing that sharing your struggles might help someone else to have the courage to share theirs. I think the tragedy of my generation of Christians is that they 1) don't understand the importance of the body of Christ and 2) don't understand their place in it. I guess that's what I'm trying to get at in a round about way. Perhaps I will do a follow-up post with more details.

Right now I need to go and get a few more things done before tonight. There is a night of worship at my church, and I couldn't be more excited about going : )