I almost always feel alone in a crowd. I have been this way most of my life and more often than not, I’m ok with it. But there are times that feeling alone makes me question everything about myself…and I mean EVERYTHING! Too loud? Too quiet? Too short? Too boring? Too happy? Too sad? Too rich? Not rich enough? Am I over dressed? Underdressed? Does this dress make my butt look fat? GEESH!!!

Yes, I know, they are all ridiculous questions, but they run through my mind more often than I care to admit.

I often feel like an island….and not one of those exotic beautiful islands, ya’ll, I’m talking about the barren, uninhabitable ones. It’s enough to make a girl want to give up on socializing all together.

I have talked to a lot of women lately who are tired of shallow relationships. We’re done with trying to be people we are not in order to fit into a certain group and we’re totally OVER finding out the hard way that someone is not trust worthy. Good grief, ya’ll….we make it so hard. We complicate the relationships in our lives to the point that they cannot withstand the pressure and before you know it, another one bites the dust.

Truth be told, I have very few women in my life who make an effort to nurture our friendship. (side note – I am OVERWHELMINGLY thankful for the few who do!!)  It’s sad, but true. When I say nurture, I don’t mean those half ditch efforts to say Hi for the 30 seconds it takes us to cross paths in public, I don’t mean a text message every 2-3 months, and I sure don’t mean the gossip sessions many love to pass off as ‘prayer requests.’ Nope, I am talking about the real deal, ya’ll. Nurture is defined as follows: To support and encourage, as during a period of training and development. WOW – Support and encouragement. Wouldn’t you love to be consistently supported and encouraged through this training and development we call “Life?” Me too, sisters, me too!

So how do we do this? How do we nurture our relationships and how do we give the love, honor and friendship we ourselves long to have? We invest our most precious commodities, ya’ll….our time and our love.

Scary stuff, huh? Yes, but it is worth it. Because it is what God has commanded and because He commanded it, He WILL honor it when we obey.

“This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:17

Father God, thank you for your love that empowers us to love one another. Thank you for the relationships you have placed in our lives and for those that have yet to form. I pray over each of them, Father and I pray they would be honoring to you. Help us to nurture one another, and build deeper relationships. Let us not be satisfied with imitation friendships that have no depth or honor and empower us to give up the relationships in our lives that do not bring you glory. God, I know this will not be a popular post or prayer by the world’s standards, but I pray you will use it to make a difference for eternity. We love you, Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.