Looking For Friendship

Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. - Proverbs 18:24 (MSG)

I wish you could have seen me during my sophomore year of high school. Everyone says your freshman year is always the hardest, and while academically that was true, 9th grade had nothing on sophomore year when it came to the friendship struggles I faced.

I remember feeling so alone and so frustrated as I started my second semester of 10th grade. Sure, I had friends. I had people to sit with at lunch, people to talk to during carpool, and people to text when I had homework questions. Not to mention I did everything I could to be social. I played sports. I joined clubs. I went to football games. But regardless of my efforts, I couldn’t find that one person I really clicked with. 

I didn’t have a best friend, a true friend, a friend I could call at 3am if I was upset or worried about something. And I wanted that kind of friend more than anything…but I had no idea how to find one.

Growing up my mom would often remind me of James 4:2, which essentially says, “You have not because you ask not.” This season of my life was no different. In the midst of my loneliness and desire for true friendship, my mom encouraged me to pray and ask God to give me a best friend. So that’s exactly what I did. I went upstairs to my room, shut the door, pictured Jesus sitting in my hot pink moon chair, and asked Him for a best friend. 

Five months later, the Lord answered that prayer. And not only was she my best friend throughout the rest of high school, but she’s been my best friend ever since. We graduated college together. I was the maid of honor in her wedding, and she just had her first kid who will one day, once he can talk, call me Aunt Kristen. 

I tell you this story because I want to encourage you that sometimes, we try too hard to make things happen on our own and forget to pray and ask God for the things we really want, like a best friend. I’m not saying you should just sit at home, do nothing, and expect God to drop your best friend on your doorstep like the Amazon delivery guy. But you also shouldn’t think you have to find friendship completely on your own.

True friendship is a gift from God. It’s a means by which He encourages us, sanctifies us, and challenges us. He is thrilled when we are a part of strong, godly friendships. So, if you’re looking for a best friend, if you’re wanting someone (or a few someones) in your life who can be in your corner and point you to Christ, begin praying and asking God to fulfill that desire. I firmly believe when we ask Him for friends, that is a prayer the Lord loves to answer.