After talking to some friends about finding friends for support, it got me thinking about my journey of friendships through life stages.
It’s easier to have friends when you are single, in college. Everyone you see daily are in the same stage of life, with similar issues, and it’s easy to find people who understand you, a meeting of the minds. As a Christian, I naturally gravitated towards finding friends for support in a Christian fellowship group.
After college, single and working, it’s still relatively easy to find support from friends. Everyone is basically on the same schedule – I had friends from church and we hung out after work, no homework to do, our weekends were relatively flexible. We liked going out, doing things, and in the course of playing tennis, miniature golf, rollerskating, skiing and going to the beach together, we had many occasions to talk and support one another. We used to get together to cook. One of the guys was and still is a fantastic cook.
But after marriage, it was a totally different experience.
In our church fellowship group, there were some married and some who were still single. We still hung out, but there was a difference. I think that being married, my husband and I didn’t have as much a need to go out and do things as we did when we were single. We were content to be with each other, there was always stuff to do at home. There was a sense of having a family and being settled, even though we didn’t have kids yet. When we were single, we sought opportunities to go out, but being married, we didn’t make the effort. If the occasion is there, we’d go out with friends, but if not, we had each other. As there were fewer get-togethers with friends, there was less and less support from them.
Where did we find our social support as a couple? Well, we didn’t. Not in the sense of having a group of close friends who were couples like us. A few married couples we knew moved away. There were church friends that we knew we can count on. We got together with them occasionally, we saw them at church, and we talked. Most of the time, it was chit chat, but through that, we knew if there was a crisis, they would be there for us. And maybe that type of friendship was enough to satisfy our needs.
I think finding friendship as a couple is a tricky thing. It requires that both the husband and wife has to feel comfortable with the other husband and wife. There are too many variables to align.
On the other hand, each having a friend of the same gender to talk to is more doable. I had girlfriends that I talked to that helped me tremendously during times of trials. However, I would have to say that while I found support with them, they were not necessarily my best friends.
It was not until I had children that I made better friends.
A few friends and I met up weekly with our little ones as a way to get out of the house, and to form a play group for our children. We all share the same values. We were committed to stay at home with our children, though most of us worked part time. We had conservative Christian values. We all strive to hold Jesus in the center of our lives. We attended different churches, and that added a little diversity to the group. This group formed organically.
One more thing, probably the most important thing – we were all pretty desperate to find friends when we were new moms. So we made it a priority, not an option, to meet up.
Another note of interest – We had a couples fellowship group at our church for a time. While it was a good to get together with other couples, we weren’t a tight group with whom I would open up freely. But again they were friends I could depend on in a crisis, which is a good thing.
As I look back, here is what I learned:
– Good friends are hard to come by.
– But it doesn’t mean you can’t find friends who can give you love and support.
– One or 2 friends are all we truly need.
– God brings people into our lives, some will be lifelong friends, and some will not.
– Being married makes it hard to make friends. It’s easier to find separate friends. And that’s ok.
– It takes initiative to have friends, and a real desire and willingness to share of yourself. Otherwise, friendship do not just happen.
– Friends do not have to be in the same stage of life to give each other support. I am blessed to have friends who are younger who gives me much encouragement.
Recently, I took the initiative to ask a friend to walk and pray with me once a week. This friend is someone I’ve known, we talk on occasion, but we’ve never made a point to get together before. When I asked her to meet with me, it was a risk. I didn’t know what she thought of me, but it turned out she was happy to pray with me regularly. I think it’s been a year since we started praying together.
I count myself fortunate to have many friends in my life. Not all are on the same level of closeness, but all have contributed greatly to the quality of my life. Thank you to you all.
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