Can We Be Real? Part 2

Can We Be Real? Part 2 - Craving Real Friendships

Do you have a lot of friends, or just a few? Do you thrive on hanging out with all the friends, or having coffee with just a few? How about those friends who are in it for the nitty-gritty of life - do you have a lot of those friends or is that a smaller group?

I genuinely enjoy all my friends, and I love the opportunities to spend time with everyone! But I’ve noticed that I, personally, prefer just a few friends for the “nitty-gritty” of life - for letting down my guard and being real, for forming solid friendships.

I crave those moments to be the real me, with just a small group of friends. Here’s an example - a rough one, but still, an example. I don’t really prefer shoes, but it’s socially acceptable to show up to a church small group wearing *something* on your feet…unfortunately. So I try to comply. But in “real me” fashion, I found a way around the shoe thing in the winter. I chose to wear slippers as often as possible. I wouldn’t do that if I was going to an all-church get-together, but I could do that with our small group - ones with whom we can be real.

For me, the large group activities are wonderful, and so much fun - baby or wedding showers, parties, things like that. I crave the smaller social activities, though, to be able to be real - whether I want to wear slippers, or if things are going well and we want to share good news with friends, or if we’re struggling through some issues and need people to pray with us.

In being a friend to others, I find that the smaller settings - whether it’s coffee with friends, a meeting at church, or time at the playground with friends and their kids - give me a great opportunity to get to know more about people. I would prefer having in-depth conversations with a few friends, rather than making small talk in a large group.

For a long time, we struggled with the concept of small groups at our church because it was so difficult for us to attend with our son’s special needs. A few months ago, a group was starting that would meet at the church. This seemed ideal because our son was familiar with the surroundings, liked the others who would be there, knew the general rules, and would hopefully cope. As our church has been experiencing some extreme growth, we’ve been so blessed to hook into a small group where we can form solid friendships. It’s true, as I’ve been learning in various meetings, that the church needs to grow smaller as it grows larger. We’ve been blessed with a great group of friends at our small group.

It seems pretty obvious, but I think about the example Jesus gave us. He was genuinely interested in everyone, but had his group of 12 disciples that were his close friends. How about you - because I know everyone isn’t the same as me - do you crave the smaller groups or do you thrive on larger get-togethers? Both definitely have their place, but I certainly enjoy the opportunity to spend time with smaller groups of friends.

Did you miss Part 1? Click here to read it.

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*My Turn For Us , Create With Joy , Katherine’s Corner

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