I love rekindled friendships. The sort that take place when two people grow a part for a season, then are wonderfully brought back together at the perfect time. This has happened to me over this past year. Many relationships that were dwindling have caught fire again. I am grateful for this because I have received many rich, empowering moments and memories with those dearest to me.
This morning I had the privilege to have one of my dearest and sweetest friends over for breakfast. We laughed, drank raspberry smoothies, and talked about the things we held closest to our hearts. She is the kind of gal that no matter what subject we direct ourselves to, she always finds a way to refocus it back to the Lord. I love her for that. And I love that our relationship has grown deep roots in what is truly important.
This didn't just happen over night though. It wasn't as if something miraculously just changed. Oh no, there was investment needed in these friendships. It was not a one sided investment. It took both parties to fully divulge into mending and relighting a friendship. I am glad we chose to invest in our friendship, instead of put a simple lease on it. Leasing would be easier. But it wouldn't make for a relationship that grows and spreads its seeds among others. The friendships that last are those which have been invested in.
A friend the other day told me about a bible app called BiOY. If you have not downloaded it, I highly recommend that you do. It is a perfect little daily devotion that allows you to read through the bible in a year, and isn't only bible verses. It has quotes from famous theologians, metaphoric stories, and very specific points to back up scripture.
Today's devotion was pointed towards where our hope lies, and how we are investing our time in it.
"Time is your most valuable possession. You can make more money but you cannot create more time. How you spend your time is evidence of where your hope lies." This spoke so clearly as a statement of where and how I invest my time in my friendships.
Am I investing in a one way friendship? The kind that is primarily centered on myself and what I can get from it? Or is a friendship where I am seeking the needs and taking an interest in the other?
"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." ~Galatians 6:10
Household of faith. Well, doesn't that make you want to invest in the very Being who created that household? The more I began to think about investing in friendships, I began to wonder how much I truly have invested in my relationship with the Lord. I could ask myself the same questions as above:
Am I investing in a one way friendship, making it a lease? Or am I seeking to invest my time in a deep rooted, strong relationship that will last a lifetime?
So much of today's society is about what we can receive from our Heavenly Father. You see it in worship music, hear it in messages, and even in our prayers, we ask what we can get from God. And yes, the Lord wants us to ask great things of Him. Yet, if we are truly investing in a relationship with the Lord, we would be seeking to honor, uplift, and listen to Him more. To worship Him with words that glorify His miraculous, wondrous name! To constantly thank and bless Him for what He has already done for us and in us!
"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!" Psalm 96:8-9
So, as for me I had to take a good hard look at where I am investing my time in my relationships. What have you decided to do? Are your friendships leased or will they last a lifetime? And more importantly, how are you invested in the very One who has invested all He has in you?
Will it be a lease or a Lifetime?
Want more? Read Psalm Chapter 96
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