How to Have Intentional Friendships PART 2নমুনা
Aspirational Community
As I walked into the group exercise class at my local YMCA for the first time, I glanced around the room. Women were grabbing dumbbells twice as heavy as the ones I had selected, and they looked like what I was hoping to look like in the not-too-distant future.
As I told my friend after the class, I pick which classes I attend by looking at the women who are in them. I want to be in the classes with the women who are slightly ahead of me, who are where I want to be someday. Rather than finding them intimidating (which they could be if I let them), I find it motivating and encouraging to see what they’ve achieved.
I do the same thing in my spiritual life: I look for women of wisdom who are loving God and loving others well, and then I support their ministries so I can learn from them simply by being in their circle. Having others come along in quiet support is encouraging and life-giving, and what starts as me simply serving and learning from a distance often blossoms into friendship on some level.
Carol, a spiritual mother to me, came into my life in this fashion. I volunteered for years in her organization, learning from her from afar, before she and I got to know one another. She is a treasured friend and a rare find. Almost as importantly, I have also developed a number of mentoring acquaintances through this approach—women I have coffee with once or twice a year, picking their brains, listening to what they are doing (or not), asking questions, and learning from their wisdom and experience, even as our circles overlap only tangentially.
I am influenced by those I surround myself with. I very intentionally seek out women of spiritual depth, women whose lives look like the one I am journeying toward, so that I might learn from them. Wisdom bubbles up and flows around us when we sit in proximity to the wise.
Today’s Act of Friendship: Consider who is spiritually wise in your already-existing circles that you can draw closer to or what aspirational community you might join so that you can grow through their influence.
Scripture
About this Plan
From the Bible reading plan, How to Have Intentional Friendships – with over 100,000 readers – we bring you PART 2. Explore what genuine friendship looks like. God amplifies healthy relationships in ways that are gloriously surprising and deeply satisfying. Discover easy-to-do ideas for building and maintaining your friendships in small ways that carry long-lasting, relationship-rich impact.
More