“I have no friends!” a mom told me recently. I have felt like that in the past. I’ve even wondered when we left for vacation;
“Will anyone notice I’m gone?”
We don’t have family in the area where we live. For us that meant traveling with 4 kids 500 miles to go see Grandma and Grandpa each Christmas. It meant it was just “us” for birthdays. Easter Dinner? Sometimes we invited guests but usually it was our family. Thanksgiving? Phew- there were some relatives only 200 miles away that we could go see!
I wanted friends!
The Bible says that you need to choose your friends wisely. Good biblical friends will help you be godly, too. Here are some wise ideas to grow friendships to if you are in need of some new ideas:
Make some food for someone. Check out the recipes here. I like the molasses crinkles.
Make sure when you greet someone, you make eye contact and focus on what they are saying.
Give them an opportunity to talk.
If they are an animal owner, ask about their pets.
Do they have a job? So many jobs are high stress these days! They would probably be glad to tell you about it.
Do they homeschool? Do you? That should make for a lot of good stories!! Laugh together and encourage each other in your mom life!
Are they a care taker for a parent? a mother-in-law? a child? I’m sure they have plenty of concerns to share about that ministry. Offer to pray for them, right while you are together and in an on-going way.
Friends Communicate with Each Other
Are you thinking about someone? Send them a letter in the mail. If that is too time consuming, at least message them, email them or text them. In other words, communicate with them in a positive way.
Can you help them in some way? Perhaps you could babysit and give a young couple an evening out.
Do they have a large garden? Go over and weed for a hour with them or do a project together.
Friendships take intentionality. Meet them for coffee on a regular schedule. Have a Bible study together.
Scheduling time for people is very meaningful. Most people realize that if you are carving out some time to spend with them, you are committed to that friend relationship.
Call them. “Hi, this is your Tuesday morning encouragement call. How are you doing?”
I have wonderful friends: a whole list of them from church and the home school group. My kids are all grown up and are my friends. My son’s wife’s parents are my friends. But since I have known the feeling of not having friends, I empathize with that feeling.
If you know of someone who has just moved into your area, be friendly. If you know of someone who is a little shy or an introvert, remind them that you are their friend. Don’t assume that people know you are their friend- show them. It will be a great encouragement to both of you! What do you do to be friendly? Be sure to write your ideas in the comments below.
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Bonus: I wrote a Blog post called Homeshool: Teaching Your Children Biblical Truth. I addressed these same concerns in a Youtube video.
Child Development and Raising Responsible Adults I go through some developmental milestones with some teaching reminders to help you maximize learning through all ages.
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I made friends with a girl when we had to go to a professional development class but her car broke down. It seemed like the most boring place ever but when we had those extra minutes in the car each week we found out we had a lot in common. Be willing to “use what you’ve got”!