Sometimes you need someone to call something what it is....a spade a spade. Sometimes you need someone to be real enough with you to point out your faults...to tell you when you are off base....when you've lost you're marbles....when you've gone too far....when you've blown it...when you've got spinach between your teeth...and yes, even when you're wrong!!!
These are the true blue friends in my life. Those few people who I trust love me enough to see way past all the flaws in my life and see the person God is molding me into. They see past my insecurities, my appearance, my dirty house, my dirty blond roots, my bargain flip flops and they see the real deal. The wanna be God girl who is always one step behind where she really wants to be.
And this week, one of those girlfriends called a spade a spade. She accused me of being an enabler. WHAT?!?!?!
And she was right. Ouch!!!
And I knew it as soon as she said it. And I said "Thank you".
Thank you for not letting me get away with it. Thank you for loving me enough to know my heart...but also know it was wrong. Thank you for doing the hard stuff and calling me out. Thank you for sharpening me and getting me to think passed a temporary moment of what I confused to be "good" and waking me up to the reality that I cannot protect everyone I know. Thank you for being confident enough in our relationship that you could trust that I would "hear" you. Thank you for helping me grow.
That's a true blue friend to me. I've got a couple and I wouldn't trade them for all the chocolate and diet coke in the world. They are the best examples of what it means to truly love one another. It's easy to be friends with someone who will always take your side or hear your opinions, but the hard stuff is when you go through things that are messy and you sharpen each other with God's Word....because really...who else's words really matter anyway.
Sometimes when we are sharpening each other it can hurt at first, but in the end, the refining friction that happens during that sharpening will create something more beautiful if we are pliable and willing to hear and apply those lessons of love from people who truly care.
Do you have a friend who sharpens you?
1 comment:
The first person that comes to my mind is my Mom. I can remember a time in college, I was home for the summer, and she had to tell me I had my priorities out of order. It DID sting, but it was true. Even though it was my Mom, because I was basically out of the house then, it was a refining moment in my life.
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