What Does a Well Balanced Friendship Look Like?

“Friend” has taken on a new meaning in a world influenced by social media. It’s often used to describe someone who you barely know, who follows your life at a safe distance, communicating by clicking a “like” button.  But as busy women in our daily walk, we see lots of other women, we may call friends.  Some walk along side us and cheer us on, some walk behind us and add additional weight and baggage, some may seem to wear us down with negativity, jealousy, comparison, gossip etc.  

Cultivating true friendship takes much time and effort, something many of us do not have an abundance of! But for the Christian woman, here is a glimpse of some friendships based on characteristics of Biblical women that are worth seeking out. 

An Elizabeth

We need an Elizabeth in our lives, someone that will speak into our lives.

What does this Elizabeth look like? She is likely an older woman (older than you). She will invest time, energy, wisdom, and will hold you accountable for maturity in Christ.

*One of my Elizabeths came up to me at church, understanding the feeling of way too much to do that sometimes catches us with me, sat me down and asked "What can you let go this week?"  Pondering her question, I made some plans to help with time management for the coming week.

A Mary

We need to have in our life a Mary. A Mary is a young person (usually younger than us)  in whom we can invest our own lives, a young person to whom we can give time and energy and hold them accountable.  Because we have been given much, we need to give much. 

*It often takes so little to encourage busy young moms these days. A kind word, a text, a smile of understanding helps them relax and gain confidence to be all they can be. 

A Martha  

We also need a Martha. All of us need somebody who is our peer that we’re maybe in the same age group, maybe we’re going through the same season in life. We’re respecting each other’s time. We give each other that time and energy, we hold each other accountable, so it’s a mutual relationship. It's fun, easy and adds much joy to our life.  

*Too much time with a Martha can keep our relationship balance a bit lazy.  We're not as encouraged to strive upward as we grow with our older woman friend and we may not be so guarded to share our influence on younger women. 

It takes a balance of all three to help us mature in Christ and share with others the things we've learned.  This balance brings a beauty to our Christian friendships and influence.