Good friendships don’t happen by accident. They take time and attention to grow. However, developing the gift of girlfriend comes with intention and action. Friendship is a special blessing in every season of life.
Summer days, what better time to focus on friendship?
Busy days and cramped schedules make it easy to become disconnected from friends. When my children were younger, time with friends part of our routine. Kids came over to play, and so did their moms.
We lived in a neighborhood where friendship came easily and community was a natural part of the neighborhood. We gathered in yards while kids connected houses with lines of hopscotch grids and stick figure drawings.
Now my kids are all taller than I am and they are busy with their own adventures. They don’t need mom watching from the sidelines. Kid activities no longer create friendships with other moms.
A different season.
As a writer, my schedule is often rather solitary. I love what I do, but there are days when I feel isolated as I tap away at the computer keys. I’m blessed with wonderful friends, but the time to enjoy relationships is harder to find.  [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#friendship”]My need for friendship doesn’t go away just because I am working and life is busy.[/tweetthis]
When my kids were younger, we sometimes grounded them from hanging out with friends when they misbehaved. For teenagers, there was no better consequence. Do you know what? I’ve just realized, that for the past few years, I’ve virtually grounded myself.
Too often, I tell myself, I will plan time  with a friend when I get my work done. Somehow, I feel guilty or lazy if I take time to hang out with a friend. How crazy is that?
Well, it’s time for the guilt to stop.
For most of us, our work is never really done. There is always something else on the to-do list. I don’t know about you, but my task list can seem longer than a new roll of toilet paper. If we prioritize friendship as a treat to be held off until all our work is done, then we find ourselves isolated and disconnected from people we care about.
Today, I’m giving myself permission to make for time for friendship. And just because I’m Queen of this corner of the Bloggy World…
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#timewithfriends #friendship”]I give you permission to spend time with friends.[/tweetthis]
Goodbye guilt and hello fun!
Laughing with friends is good for your soul, and here is where the spiritual meets the practical today. I don’t often give homework on this blog, but today I have an assignment for you: plan to do something fun with a friend this week. No excuses, okay?
Seriously…do it!
What challenge do you face in making time for friendship? How have you overcome that challenge? I’d love to hear what’s on your heart today.
Friend, I can’t write about friends and not tell you how very grateful I am that you choose to visit my online home. Your friendship means the world to me. Thanks for reading!
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So glad you're here. I help busy women—gals like you— build healthy habits for living well with biblical wisdom and practical steps to deepen your faith, increase your hope, and thrive in your purpose.
Love this! Thanks so much Ginger!
Yippee! So glad you’ve been encouraged today! Thanks for joining in the fun.
Oh, yes. Good encouragement here that I needed. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.
Hope you have a wonderful summer filled with the love of family and friends. So glad you stopped by today.
Lovely lovely writing!
Thank you for visiting today. So glad our paths have crossed. Many blessings.
Beautiful Ginger! I am learning and craving the face to face real life connections that fill my soul in a deep way. We are lucky to have this beautiful blogging world and I love the friends I have developed but nothing can replace a real life connection. Thank you for sharing this at The Weekend Brew.
Facetime is so different from Facebook, isn’t it? Connecting online is wonderful, but face to face is irreplaceable! Thanks for hosting the community at The Weekend Brew, Mary.
You are so right… laughing with friends is such a gift in our lives from God! Glad I stopped by for a visit! Many Blessings to you! Danise
Hope you have many opportunities to enjoy the gift of friendship! Thanks for visiting today.
Great encouragement for us, Ginger! I’m naturally more introverted, so it requires extra effort for me to get together with friends. But when I take that step, I never, ever regret it! Thank you for being such an important part of our community at Grace & Truth. 🙂
Grace and Truth is a great community! It’s easy to feel isolated as a blogger, so I appreciate the opportunity to gather with friends both online and in person. Thanks for visiting today!