Stitching Things Up Does Not Always Mean Sewing

Friendship. We women must have it! God gave us females (at first I typed femails... which, does fit, doesn't it?! lol)a very high dosage of daily verbiage. If those 10-20,000 words do not find a release while talking to someone else, guess what? We talk to ourselves!

And we are not always honest with ourselves.

We also do not know everything.

Hold you hats for this one - and our perceptions are not always correct! That's right: I said it.

When I was in the infant (practically fetal) stages of my walk with the Lord, I noticed that one of the leader gals of our church had everything go right with her (I later learned she just wasn't open in sharing the truth about any of her struggles.) As a newbie, I naturally concluded that if you did all the right things that happened for you. I mean, this gal's wallpaper actually ROLLED OFF THE WALL when she removed it. It was in such fine shape that she actually was able to give it to another gal to reuse on HER walls. Yep. I speak with no forked tongue, I assure you!

And there I was, pulling wallpaper.... not coming off in rolls, but in mini shreds. One at a time. I had to soak that wall, again and again. Oh, I can barely stand retelling of it. It was awful, so dang much work!!!

So, my perception was that since my wallpaper didn't roll off, then it was because I wasn't doing everything right in my Christian walk like that gal. And here's where a wise girlfriend came in. As she listened to me blab all this sulking into the phone, she said, "Liz! Men and women who love the Lord obey His call to missionary work. Many of them get killed over there. Do you think it was because they weren't doing things right?"

She went on and backed this all up in a pretty Scriptural package for me, and gave me the gift of truth. A TRUE perspective.

Anyhoo, it's important to bounce ideas and perceptions off of each other. BUT ALSO... to speak the truth in love. To admonish one another and call one another to straighten up and fly right in the Lord.

There was a misunderstanding between me and a friend the other day. I was totally going to blow it off, and obviously, since my phone wasn't ringing, she wasn't going to be doing any dialing, either.

Till.... another friend who saw us together said, "Are you two mad at each other?"

Darn. I thought I was doing very well at dealing (ok, hiding) it! Bet the other gal thought the same thing, too.

So, because of that faithful girlfriend, I was called to righteousness. I had to call that other friend and stitch the whole mess up. Never easy. Definitely not fun! But Jesus would want us to be humble like Him, don't ya think?

Girlfriends do this with one another! It is worth it, and don't you dare let anyone tell you it's not.

Anyhoo, can you imagine how hard it was for my girlfriend to have to tell me that I really needed to make things right with that other friend of mine? It's not easy to speak the truth in love or to admonish one another, is it?

But it's for our good. It brings glory to God!

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend." That truthful friend of mine told me I was in the wrong to let things blow off, so that I could live in the 'right'. That is a true blue friend! Got one in your corner? I sure hope so!

So, call up your friends, have them over, get it all out, speak in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, speak of sales and nail polish and homemaking and recipes and things that bug the tar out of you. Use those words to pray together, to make a joyful noise, to magnify the Lord. Spill them out in wisdom from hard-learned lessons, and let them taste like apples of gold in building one another up with kind words.

Just grab your friends and have fun gabbing!!!

"Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend" Proverbs 27:9.
"Do not forsake your own friend..." Proverbs 27:10.

And now, my husband just pulled into the driveway; no time to proof...hope this made sense! If not, let's talk about it tomorrow!!!! :)