Surrounded by Sisters and Friends

My grandmother's photo album is filled with crumbling pages of pictures of her family and friends. Part of a big Italian family, she always had someone around to share her life with. I never got to know her since she died long before I was born. But as I look at her photos, I know that she was surrounded by her sisters and friends.

I am too.

For the past few months, I've been meeting up with a friend who is wondering if she should leave her full-time job to start seeing clients at a counseling center. She’s been working diligently toward her God-sized dream of being a counselor and now she says she feels like she’s standing at a precipice, a little scared but excited. 

I tell her I think she should close her eyes and jump.

I tell her if God placed this dream in her heart, then she should follow where he’s leading, no matter how scary it is. 

I tell her that this opportunity may just be the next place of promise God has for her.

She tells me that my words have encouraged her. She tells me my friendship and acceptance have given her hope during this difficult season.  

But I realize these encouraging words I’ve shared with my friend aren’t really my own words. They are words that at many stops along the way, have encouraged me.

Because I’ve long been convinced that my personality quirks hinder my friendships, I'm continually read books that tell me how to work with my weirdness instead of against it. How to appreciate how amazing I already am. How to find the unique and beautiful purpose that God created in me. 

I've always attributed some of my quirks to the family of passionate, outspoken Italians I come from. I grew up listening to my dad's extended family tell dramatic stories and give a candid running commentary on everything around them. Even knowing where my mannerisms and characteristics come from, I haven't always appreciated them.

But now I think this is all a part of God's design for my life.

What if the very things I have so wished to change in myself have been the training ground for absorbing words of hope? 

What if the paths of disappointment and discouragement I’ve walked have given me insight and understanding to pave the way to encourage others? 

What if what I considered imperfections to banish from my life were the perfect way to connect with those who come into my life?

Sometimes opening my heart to share isn't the easiest thing for me to do since I worry what others will think about me. 

But I know God meant for us to encourage, connect and share our hearts with each other.

This summer, I'm co-leading a group on Facebook with the website (in)courage. My co-leader Sara and I met through an (in)couragers group last year. When the group needed new leaders, I wondered if I could do it. 

I think participating in groups on Facebook is the perfect irony for me since I have long resisted joining Facebook. But I felt that I should give it a try and noticed that Sara had posted the most recent update to the group. So I sent her a message, explaining that I was a Facebook novice but would she consider co-leading with me? 

To my amazement, she said she'd already been praying about it and was excited I had reached out to her. Together, we shared encouraging words and offered our friendship to the ladies in our group. 

It's risky but rewarding to open my heart but I realized that being an encourager with all of the friends in my life, both in real-life and online, is part of God's purpose for me. Sara was like a sweet sister God had connected me with just when I most needed her encouragement. 

Now Sara and I will again co-lead a group called (in)couraging Vocations and there are 70 more groups to choose from on a variety of topics if you want to check them out over at (in)courage. 

Registration is through (in)courage and open for this week only. We'd love to meet you there!

You just might find yourself surrounded by friends who could become like sisters.