"The gift of friendship among women is a treasure not to be taken lightly. Women become the face of God to one another- the face of grace, of delight, of mercy." (Captivating by Stasi and John Elderedge)
Regardless of your state in life; married, single, religious- if you are a woman you understand the value of your girlfriends. There is something special about the relationships between women. It starts as young girls with those silly little "best friend" necklaces that are two separate pieces but once put together create a heart or flower or some symbol of love and care. In junior high and high school we begin sharing clothes, crushes, and insecurities with one another. And as adult women we continue to pursue the friendships of the other women in our lives.
I have a group of friends whom I have been friends with since junior high. Two of us are single and the other two are married with two kids each. As you can imagine our lives are hectic and have taken all four of us down different paths, but about once a month we get together, just the girls for breakfast at a local greasy spoon. For about 2 hours the four of us just sit and talk. We share what's going on in our lives and what's new and exciting (and what's not so exciting...) We often laugh that regardless of how old we get there is a part of us that when we get together we immediately reverse to our teenage years again. We tend to gossip, giggle, and let out the occasional swear word as we catch up with the latest...and boy, do we laugh. Yes, some of the content has changed; stories about children, husbands, work, bad dates, no dates, bills, and much more comes up, but the magic is the time we get to spend with one another. And for me, that time is priceless. After about 20 cups of coffee, consuming the breakfast special, and getting looks from the wait staff as they prepare to begin serving lunch we realize it's time for us to once again go our separate ways, but when we leave we are rejuvenated and joy filled having spent those few precious hours together.
And it seems to me that's how it is for women. We need other women in our lives. Ask any married woman and she will more than likely tell you that although she is happily married, she needs her female companions as well. I once foolishly mentioned to some of my guy friends who belong to a strong Men's Fellowship group that I was jealous that they had such a great group that gathered faithfully. The leader of that group reminded me that men have to have fellowship groups because it's not something that comes naturally to them. Women on the other hand have fellowship all the time. As women, we naturally pick up the phone or meet for coffee when things stink at the job, when children are misbehaving, when our hair starts falling out or turning grey. We naturally reach out to each other with advice, love, concern, and sympathy. And that makes me proud to be a woman. But more than that, I am thankful that in those seasons of my life when I am feeling especially lonely or misunderstood, I know that my shoulder to cry on is just a phone call away. And when life is going really great, I know I only have to pick up the phone to hear my favorite "cheerleader" squeal with delight and excitement for me. That is the beauty of being a women...the other great women who surround you.
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