Treasuring the Kindred Heart of a Friend... A Five Minute Friday post

Oh man, y'all! It felt SO GOOD to be back in the flow of the twitter party that is #fmfparty! I {heart} my tribe.

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is: FRIEND

{GO}

So I have been making room to breathe... I have been settling in to my One Word this year (Dwell) and allowing myself to not only stand TALL in who I am, but to also sit BACK and relax into how He has wired me.

I wrote awhile back about how He has wired me slow.  It's part of who I am and when I do not fight it, I am able to more fully bring all of me to the table --whatever table it is that He is calling me to, on any given day.

This can prove to be counter cultural and easily pushed aside in order to keep up with my (self-imposed) bossy lists and (over?) full calendar(s)!

And yet... the Lord has been teaching me of the importance of self-care for awhile now too, so I'm catching myself before I hit the wall, full speed. #thankyouJesus!

This often translates to blocking out chunks of time to do things that help to fill me back up.  Even though it is not a secret that I love to introvert, filling back up often looks like this, too:

Because, of course! Right?

Because I need both alone time AND friend time!

I am honored to be on Lisa-Jo Baker's launch team for her new book Never Unfriended - The Secret to Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships and let me tell you... it's so good!

I have always held a high value for friendships. Always. For as far back as I can remember. 

I have had my share of heartbreaks and break up's with friends that wounded and caused me to shrink back a little, but over all - I've been one to be quick to fully invest... to love on and forgive, and seek what we have in common more than what we disagree on.  

As I said in a podcast earlier this week,

"Love wins, but we have to partner with it!"

I am blessed with friends whom I have lived more of my life WITH them than I have lived years without them!

Covenant friendships... 
  Both men and women who have held up my arms, who have cried with me and laughed with me, who have prayed for me, stood beside me, fed me when I didn't want to eat and clothed me with grace, reminding me of my worth when I was tempted to believe the lies. They have also taught me, learned from me, forgiven me and have received my forgiveness... they also pushed me out into the great unknown, seemingly off a cliff, --you know, when necessary!

I know that they are for me...
  ...no matter what.

And don't we all long for those kinds of friends? (The secret is to learn to BE that kind of friend!)

Over the years, my circles have shifted and shrank, enlarged and overlapped, and I have to adjust my boundaries and follow His lead in when to pour out and when to fill up but there is always a give and take.  I have learned that there has to be!

Making time in your hectic schedule for a date with a kindred heart so that you can reconnect and catch up... it is VITAL!!!
For both of you, it turns out. 

Because Kindred Hearts... 
they are a gift to be treasured! 
They are rare and of high value.  
They have a way of filling you up, 
even as you are pouring out!

{STOP} 

I pray you have a friend or two like this.  At least one... with whom you can do life and be real and be refreshed and revived simply by sharing space with them and talking over a cup of something yummy.  Someone who knows you at your best and at your worst... someone who runs in, even if you are chasing everyone out. A friend who loves you and is for you, no matter what!

I KNOW, in fact, that you DO have a Friend like that! You do... His name is Jesus and He is so in love with you. 

He loves to share space and catch up and hear about your day/week/month (oh but I pray you don't wait a month to chat with Him!) 

He loves the sound of your laugh and runs to you at the sound of your cries.  He holds you close and lifts you up and leads you on and He reaches out for you... 

Put your hand in the Hand of the One who loves you best... make time to be with Him, to grow that F/friendship, and watch and see Him grow other friendships around you, too! 

Spend time with Him, and watch and see how He transforms your heart to be KINDRED to His! We are being made into His image and He is the best example of the Best Friend we could ever have... and we could ever be!

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about: "FRIEND"

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:

#FreshMarketFriday...

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

LORI SCHUMAKER FOR #MOMENTSOFHOPE

Barbie Swihart for #Glimpsesofhisbeauty

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday