No one ever told me how important the friends I made in my twenties would be. There’s something about grown-up friendships.
Those were the years when I was enough of a grown-up to know myself a little bit and to gravitate towards people who would both accept me for who I already was and encourage me to grow into the person I was becoming. Those were the years when I didn’t have children and so I still had a lot of time even though it didn’t feel like it. Those were also the years when real life started happening. When death and suffering entered my reality. When the dysfunctions of our childhood homes became more apparent. When we started making decisions about whether we would keep growing spiritually. When we started paying bills and paying rent.
These four women are some of the people who walked with me through the darkest times and my deepest fears. The ones who prayed for me when I couldn’t pray for myself. Who have spoken both the hard truth and the comforting assurance. Who have told me when I needed to apologize. Who have laughed and cried by my side.
We recently had four days together to explore a city and pray and eat and drink and talk and talk some more. As one of us said, it left us so full it was almost uncomfortable, like a feast.
So here’s a gentle nudge to reconnect with your people, wherever they are. To fly across the country and endure the jetlag if that’s what it takes. To get behind on your to-do lists. To miss out on whatever is happening at home. Especially if you are in a time of hardship, the people you need (the people I need) are the ones who can stand with you in the midst of the pain, remember the past with gratitude, and anticipate the future with hope.
More with Amy Julia:
- The Importance of Diverse Friendships
- S6 E14 | Lessons for Healing in a World That’s Sick with Lyndsey Medford
- Interdependent Healing
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