Susanne Scheppmann
“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” Proverbs 27:9 (NLT)
What happens to paperclips?
I buy paperclips in boxes that are filled to the top with the tangled metal curlicues. I place them in a magnetic dispenser. I use them one at a time to clip papers together. When I am finished with the papers, I remove the paperclip and put it back into the container. They shouldn’t need to be replaced. However, within just a few weeks, I am back to the local office supply store to purchase more paperclips. Mine disappeared somewhere. Poof! They’re gone. (It’s like losing socks in the dryer.)
Sadly, friends can disappear like paperclips. Sometimes, I realize that I have lost a friendship connection. My life became busy and I neglected to nurture the relationship. I find our hearts have drifted apart. Unfortunately, I can’t run down to the friendship store and replace valuable relationships as easily as I do my paperclips.
As I study my Bible, I see how Jesus valued His friendships. He ate with friends. He traveled with them. Christ developed His ministry with friends by His side. And, Jesus served his friends with love and humility.
So, I ask myself, “What can I do to insure I do not lose my friends like I lose paperclips?”
The answer is to do what Jesus did:
Invite a friend over for dinner
Plan a trip together
Decide how we could work together in our community or church
Serve my friend out of love and humility
Friendships are invaluable. Let us challenge ourselves to follow the example of Jesus. Let’s clip ourselves to our friends for a lifetime of fellowship.
Lord Jesus, You knew the value of friendship while You were here on earth. Your friends included people from all walks of life. Remind me how important friendships are in this life. Help me not to lose those important connections in life that will add love and joy to my dreariest days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do you know Him?
Perplexing Proverbs by Susanne Scheppmann
Traveling Together: Thoughts on Women, Friendship and the Journey of Faith by Karla Worley
Application Steps:
Check through your address book. Are there a few friends whom you should call or write a note to this week? Make an effort to meet with a girlfriend this month. Choose to keep your friendships close to your heart.
Reflections:
Am I too busy for girlfriend time?
Do my friends feel valued by me?
Have I drifted away from relationships like bible study or small group friends?
What can I do to create deeper friendships in my life?
Power Verses:
Proverbs 27:10, “Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you--better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” (NIV)
Ecclesiastes 4:10, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (NIV)
Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (NIV)
“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” Proverbs 27:9 (NLT)
What happens to paperclips?
I buy paperclips in boxes that are filled to the top with the tangled metal curlicues. I place them in a magnetic dispenser. I use them one at a time to clip papers together. When I am finished with the papers, I remove the paperclip and put it back into the container. They shouldn’t need to be replaced. However, within just a few weeks, I am back to the local office supply store to purchase more paperclips. Mine disappeared somewhere. Poof! They’re gone. (It’s like losing socks in the dryer.)
Sadly, friends can disappear like paperclips. Sometimes, I realize that I have lost a friendship connection. My life became busy and I neglected to nurture the relationship. I find our hearts have drifted apart. Unfortunately, I can’t run down to the friendship store and replace valuable relationships as easily as I do my paperclips.
As I study my Bible, I see how Jesus valued His friendships. He ate with friends. He traveled with them. Christ developed His ministry with friends by His side. And, Jesus served his friends with love and humility.
So, I ask myself, “What can I do to insure I do not lose my friends like I lose paperclips?”
The answer is to do what Jesus did:
Invite a friend over for dinner
Plan a trip together
Decide how we could work together in our community or church
Serve my friend out of love and humility
Friendships are invaluable. Let us challenge ourselves to follow the example of Jesus. Let’s clip ourselves to our friends for a lifetime of fellowship.
Lord Jesus, You knew the value of friendship while You were here on earth. Your friends included people from all walks of life. Remind me how important friendships are in this life. Help me not to lose those important connections in life that will add love and joy to my dreariest days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do you know Him?
Perplexing Proverbs by Susanne Scheppmann
Traveling Together: Thoughts on Women, Friendship and the Journey of Faith by Karla Worley
Application Steps:
Check through your address book. Are there a few friends whom you should call or write a note to this week? Make an effort to meet with a girlfriend this month. Choose to keep your friendships close to your heart.
Reflections:
Am I too busy for girlfriend time?
Do my friends feel valued by me?
Have I drifted away from relationships like bible study or small group friends?
What can I do to create deeper friendships in my life?
Power Verses:
Proverbs 27:10, “Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you--better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” (NIV)
Ecclesiastes 4:10, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (NIV)
Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (NIV)
Labels: Friendships, Relationships
5 Comments:
Very true message. This is one area I feel saddened by. Not many women know how to tend to their friendships. Prayer is so valuable in this regard.
This message is very awsome I take it by heart. I have always been afraid to get close to people especially women in general because of all the back stabing that they can do altleast in my case.This is one of the reasons I refused to have "girlfriends in my life" up unitl
I meet a very speacial girl name Irene at my church I started to attend about a year and half ago. She is there when I need someone to talk to with no hesitation or critizim. People like her are very hard to come across I try to call her as often as I can or try to plan dinner with my family and her family. I thank the Lord for him showing me that not every human is trustless that there are people out there that really do care.
I was thinking about this very topic one day while driving to work. I have lost friends in various ways, from car wrecks to suicide to just losing contact. When we lose a friend in the former two, we mourn for them and sometimes a great deal depending on the situation and the type of death. In the latter, I know I sometimes just chalk the friendship up as a loss and move on. Why can't the latter be the same as the former? In the former, we would do anything to have them back. In the latter, sometimes we just go on with our lives. I've been trying lately to set up lunch dates on my days off since I work out of town or just girl time.
I am doing ok in the girlfriend area but I would like my husband and I to do better with other couples. I would like to get involved in a small group but I am not sure how. My church doesn't have small groups like our previous church did. I guess the best way to start is just to invite someone over.
Lord, I need your leading and help in this so that we can be the hospitable people that You desire us to be. Thank you for your help.
I truly understand the idea of loosing paperclips and friends too.I am a Baby Boomer and I have just earned a degree and graduated in the spring. I had many friends and I am trying to continue, but our lives are going in different directions. I heard once that we make 7 0r 8 new sets of friends during our life times so this is a time I will make new friends and try to rekindle some of the older ones.
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