Friendship in Proverbs
I'm doing it again! I love to read through the book of proverbs month by month. I often look for one word or one theme and mark it, take notes etc. Any verse can speak to me, but I find that looking for a specific theme does help me to keep my mind from wandering.
For general background info on Proverbs you can read this post, which contains thoughts I shared when beginning to study "Parenting in Proverbs".
I'm going to be leading a six week study on Friendship starting 4 Sept. I've been doing a lot of thinking and thought I'd share. I have a heart for relationships and found that I really NEEDED this focus in my personal life.....maybe someone else will appreciate it too. A people person sometimes struggles to find a balance in relationships. Are friendships expected to be forever? What do you do if a friendship seems to dissolve? How do you make friends when those around seem not to need new friends? How do you know when it is safe to share your heart? What should I look for in friendships? Are there different levels or types of friendships? These are things I've been pondering and I am curious to see what Proverbs (that book of wisdom) has to say on the topic.
Again this will be devotional - I'm not not looking for an in-depth topical study at this point. I reserve the right to dig into a specific verse at any time. ::snort:: I use the New American Standard Bible, published by The Lockman Foundation, in my devotional reading.
I only need to figure out if I should go back and try to catch up or just begin posting from here....stay tuned....I simply want to set some framework for daily posts you may begin to shortly see..... (no cutesy friendship graphic - maybe I'll have to go surfing soon. )::snort::
3 comments:
De'Etta, I posted on my blog earlier today about making friends when others don't seem to need any. For me, I found it excruciatingly slow.
I think there are different levels to friendship and that they can vary over time and circumstance. Also, at this stage in my life, and now that we're *settled*, I find I have different friends who fulfill different needs. Some of my friends fulfill the desire I have to discuss books and movies with. Others stretch me beyond my normal comfort zone because of their lifestyle and give me a new perspective, others stretch me in learning more about my faith because we're from different religions, still others I can share everything about homeschooling, faith and religion. One of my closest friends, a kindred spirit: we had awesome discussions about our faith,God, mothering, etc. went back to work. I'm really missing her. I understand she doesn't have much time for anyone but her family but I'm grieving the loss of our connection. I still call occasionally to let her know I still think of her, miss her and pray for her.
Ime, God may place someone in our lives for a short period of time....to fulfill our need or allow us to feel a need in them. Other people may be in our lives for a season, others a lifetime.
Because I'm an introvert, I find it difficult to have many acquaintances. I think part of our life circumstances have caused me to be even more introverted and now I'm finding I need to stretch myself again.
Sorry this is so long. It's a topic that's been on my mind lately. :::grin:::
Interesting topic...this has been on my mind lately. I look forward to reading your insights.
I did a 6 week study on Friendship about 3 or 4 years ago . . I think I reposted it on my blog under - Thoughts and Studies. I really enjoyed the study and I now look at Friendships so much differently. I look forward to your study!
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