Widening the Circle

One area of my life God where God has richly blessed me in the last few years has been my friendships. About five or six years ago, I stumbled into a Bible study group that would impact my life significantly. It was in this study where I met Stef and Katie, and got to know Sarah better. I also made many other friends who I still keep in touch with even though we've scattered all over Texas. Over the last few years, we've laughed till our sides ached, confided in each other and shared in joy and pain. Through these friendships, I've learned how meaningful it is to share community with other believers.

I'm the kind of person who would rather have a few good friends who really know me than a room full of friends who only know me at a surface level. And I think that's okay.

But over the last year, Stef and Katie have moved to Dallas, Sarah and I don't see each other as much, and who knows where Erin could end up by the end of the year? I don't mean for this to sound like a funeral: I still see them all the time and that's not changing. But with all this shifting, there have been many times I've wanted to go for a last-minute walk or grab dinner, and I realize, where are my people?

I feel God prompting me to widen my circle and it's taking me out of my comfort zone. It's not meeting new people that intimidates me. It's just that really good friendships take a lot of investing and sometimes I wonder if I'm up for it, the giving and taking that forms the deepness. 

Something else I've noticed is how many faces I don't recognize when I stand in church on Sundays, and I would consider myself an involved member. Okay, more prompting. So I signed up for a 6-week women's 20-something Bible study. It's sobering to think this may be my last chance to attend a twenty-something group while I'm actually a twenty-something!

Tonight we met for the second time and most of them are new faces to me. There are a lot of girls in the study, which makes me realize there are a lot of girls in my church longing for community. Both times we've met, I've found myself observing everyone, wondering, could she be my friend? What about her? Is she my kind of people? 

I know that's ridiculous of me to try and size up each of them like that. I realize it sounds like I'm auditioning for friends or something, which isn't the case, really. I guess I'm just excited because from the first meeting, it felt very similar to some five or six years ago, sitting in a different living room with a different group of girls. 

It feels like God is bringing us together for a reason, and even though this is only a six-week course, I'm excited to see where this is going.