Read through the Bible in 2 years: Matthew 12

But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers!
For whoever does the will of
my Father in heaven is
my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:48-50 ESV

Yesterday’s post about Jesus carrying your burdens versus carrying your own burdens got me really thinking about the earthly importance of living in close community with other Christian sisters. (You’ll have to read it to understand.) I was so, so blessed this past weekend to spend 24 hours with the ladies of my church family. I left energized, ready to keep plowing and turning my eyes to Jesus.

If you haven’t found some ladies to “do life with,” to plow the field with, let me encourage you – YOU NEED TO DO IT! Husbands are truly a blessing from the Lord. So are children. But having a sister in faith is so very special.

Here are some tips that might help you in this:

1. Don’t wait for someone else to reach out to you. They may be doing the very same thing. Remember that Christ made the first move. He reached out to you. Make the effort today to reach out to someone else. Get a date on the calendar and keep it.

2. Don’t only reach out to people who look like you, think like you, and act like you. Some of the ladies who’ve had the greatest impact on my life have been the most different from me. I need their viewpoint in my life!

3. Don’t be surprised when the scheduled time comes and you don’t want to go. Resist the temptation to make an excuse to stay home. You’ll miss out on a blessing and so will your friend!

4. Don’t think your relational needs can be adequately met through online friendships or scrolling through social media. No matter how great that blogger 😉 or influencer or Facebook group friend seems … You’re only seeing a tiny slice of their life. Real friends will be IRL friends. If you meet that perfect sister online (which does happen!), that relationship needs to go deeper than posting photos and one-liners.

5. Don’t run when the going gets tough! Authentic relationships are messy … But sisters stand by each other through the storms of life. When a sister says something that hurts your feelings, you have only two choices: (1) overlook the offense or (2) sit down with them and talk about it. Abandoning your sister isn’t an option. Yes, there are seasons for every relationship, but “breaking up” over a pretty argument or silently creeping out the back door isn’t an option when you’re sisters.

Let’s pray for one another.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me so many sisters in faith. Thank You for how they have spurned me on to love and good deeds. Thank You for the ways that they have shouldered my burdens and walked before me to make my path easier. Thank You for the times that they have reproved me and corrected me and taught me. Thank You for the examples that they have been for me in faith, love, and good deeds. I pray that You would send someone to me today who needs a friend, someone that can bless me and who I can also bless. I pray, Father, that You would help me to be a good friend, to love others like You loved me. Help me to recognize how greatly I need community and to be willing to put in the work it demands! Help me to be humble and recognize the log in my own eye, rather than being so quick to see the speck in my sister’s eye. It is in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, the Friend who sticks closer than any brother, Amen.