Circle of Friends
We are moving into a big transition this school year: we have a new kindergartener! Our daughter, Leah, will be heading off to school with her two older siblings. For anyone who may be wondering, mom is not okay! Imagining what this year holds for Leah brings with it a lot of emotion. For any one who has sent a child off to school – whether kindergarten or college – the nostalgia of the past mixed with the feelings of the present and the concerns of the future can be overwhelming.
As I pray over all of my kids this school year, God has put it on my heart to focus those prayers on three things:
First, praising Him for His grace in filling in the gaps with the people He has put into their lives. Teachers, friends, other godly influences to help them root themselves in Christ and allow us, as parents, to raise them in devotion. All children are a treasure of the Lord. Sending them off to school takes them out of our hands and places them into the hands of others. Relinquishing that level of control takes a lot of trust. Praising God for how kindly He has granted them great teachers and also how He has given us wisdom to steward their hearts in moments when we needed His help to navigate different situations in school is a gift of His grace and goodness.
This, then, is my second prayer: that He will continue to provide in this way. I pray, especially for Leah who is entering into a class with all new kids and a building filled with people new to her, that God will place around our kids a “circle of friends” who will build them up and in whom they can grow alongside to bear good fruit.
Finally, I pray this over myself as well. As I continue to grow into maturity, with all of the learning and (occasionally painful) pruning that is involved in that process, God’s goodness and faithfulness have abounded in my life experientially in the people He has placed into it.
I have found reading the Scriptures to be an infinite source of wisdom, encouragement, and training. One of the things I have learned as I continue to grow in understanding is the value of Biblical examples of godly people – and sometimes not – so that I may pray for my own “circle of friends.” We are all influenced by people around us. We need the Lord’s wisdom to grow in knowing who we can wisely allow to speak into our lives in different seasons.
- Do you have a Ruth in your life? Someone who is faithful in your difficult seasons who will bear your burdens with you? Ruth said to Naomi who urged her to part in her own pain: “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16) God is faithful to us in Christ; we are blessed by friends who are faithful in our walk with Him.
- Do you have a Nathan in your life? Someone who is willing to do the difficult job of correcting you in an area of sin in your life or be there to hold you accountable in your walk with Christ? Nathan rebuked David for his sinful affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, speaking truth to David and turning him to repentance (2 Samuel 12). God is gracious to forgive us in Christ; we are blessed by friends who help us to walk in His ways as we turn from sin that affects our ability to live abundantly in our walk with Him.
- Do you have a Paul in your life? Someone who is in a more mature season of their walk with the Lord who humbly trains and teaches in the ways of Christ? Paul exhorts to the Corinthian Christians to “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). God is generous to provide for us in His Word to teach, rebuke, train, and provide wisdom; we are blessed by friends who mentor and disciple us in our walk with Him.
These are just a few examples of the kinds of godly people that God has placed in my circle of friends. Christ is the center of that circle. Having friends that point me to Jesus has been a gift of grace. I need their help, example, loving kindness, and their grace and mercy.
What kinds of people has God placed in your life to grow you in your walk with Him? Have there been people in your life that draw you away from Christ? How can you prayerfully consider those relationships?
Being connected in the Body of Christ at the Church of Severn Run has provided for me a wonderful circle of friends. If you are praying over your next step in your journey, please ponder and prayerfully consider how you are connected today. The Body of Christ is a gift! How can you access the blessing of God’s people, the Church, in your next step?
KB