On the 4th Day of Blogmas...

For the 4th day of blogmas I chose Romans 12:15.

Other than water and oxygen, friends are one of the most important things (or people) I need around me at all times...

Not just any friends though, genuine and loving people who care about me, and who I also care about.

Without friends I don't know where I would be, my friends keep me in check, and have given me encouragement in times of doubt and sadness. To me, friends are more than someone to hang out with or laugh with (although that stuff is pretty good too), they're something more to me.

Romans 12:15-17 says,

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

This verse sums up what my friends mean to me… And although it is saying that this is for everyone, I feel that in my life, this connects to friendships. I should mourn when my friends are mourning, and rejoice when they rejoice, not because it’s “nice” to, but because that’s what friends do! And doing these things strengthens your relationships! IT builds up trust and love for each other! This is the same idea that is conveyed in Proverbs 27:17, which tells us “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Which is actually one of my friends favorite verses, hi friend!!). Anyway, my point is that we need friends, or even just other people, around us to build us up, and vice versa! That doesn’t mean you need to force the relationship either, I feel that as long as you aren’t always alone and fending for yourself, you will be “sharpened” without even realizing it!

Okay, so I want you to imagine coal in a fire, burning and serving a very broad purpose. Now imagine taking one piece of coal out of the fire and placing it by itself, obviously that one piece of coal will cool off quickly and will be of no use very fast. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this, but if not, what I’m trying to say is, like chunks of coal, we need to be together to burn and serve a purpose, but as soon as we take ourselves out of the fire, we will become useless just like a lonely piece of coal. But please don’t get the wrong idea, making friends is hard, but only when you think about it! Being yourself and being genuine is, in my opinion, the best way to make friends that God made specially for you and the person you were created to be!

As usual, I pray that this post blessed, inspired, and influenced you to be directed to God. Feel free to email us your thoughts as we would love to hear your feedback on how we have/have not fulfilled our goal for you!