On the third Monday of February every year, British Columbians celebrate Family Day. This year, I’m especially grateful for friends that have become family. These people have celebrated with us in the good times, while also holding us up and supporting us in the trying times. We have done the same for them too.
Being miles away from our parents, siblings and most of our extended family, my husband and I have been blessed with an amazing circle of friends. Just like Proverbs.27:10 says,
Better is a friend that is near than a brother living far off.
We do not have hundreds of friends, but the few close friends that we are privileged to have in our lives are a batch of quality friends. Truly genuine, caring, selfless, kind-hearted, salt-of-the-earth kind of people for whom we are truly grateful to God for.
As I chatted with one of said friends over coffee, we shared about our experiences growing up surrounded by parents, siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins. We reminisced about the frequent gatherings from house to house to share meals and enjoy hearty conversations. The colorful weddings and fun birthday parties. The long trips to the countryside for Easter, Christmas and New years. We noticed how different it is for our children who are growing up so far from extended family. Maybe it is these shared experiences from our childhood that makes the two of us so close, because we just “get each other” on so many levels. We may have grown up in different parts of the world, but our childhoods had many similarities.
Credit: iStock | Margaryta- Basarab
We both marveled at how God works behind the scenes, placing people in our lives just when we need them. People that love and serve Jesus just like we do. Who are determined, by the grace of God, to train up their children in the way of the Lord so that when they are old, they will not depart from it. The cherry on top is that our children are close in age, so they really do enjoy spending time together at picnics, zoo visits, playdates and potlucks. They may not be blood cousins, but we are raising them to be like family.
It takes work to keep healthy relationships with friends and family. We must be intentional especially in the busy seasons of raising children. Taking time to reply to a text message, calling to check up on a friend that you haven’t heard from in a while or saving the birthdays of your friend’s children on your calendar, so you will never miss them. All these acts and more, go a long way in nurturing relationships.
Friendship and fellowship go together like bread and honey (wild bee Ugandan honey to be exact, yum!). It takes quite a bit of effort and planning for us to sync up all our different schedules and find a time that works for all the families involved, but it is so worth those many texts back and forth. As we spend time together, we usually eat delicious food, there is lots of laughter and the blessing of just getting to share our lives together is all so uplifting.
Credit: iStock | artursfoto
Remember the story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah). They were taken as young men from their home country to serve the King of Babylon in his court. Far from home, these young friends stuck together and from the account in the book of Daniel, it reads like they were basically family. They ate together, prayed together, fasted together and served God together. There is strength in numbers. As Eccelesiastes.4:12 puts it; a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
So as we take time to appreciate and celebrate both family and friends that have become family, remember to be loving, make time for others and check up on people. Show random acts of kindness and be a blessing to others. As much as you love it when someone is genuinely there for you, be genuinely there for someone also. Pray for the people in your life and also pray for the people that you would like to be in your life but are not. Then by the grace of God, be an answered prayer in someone else’s life.
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Read more of Rachel’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
