Oftentimes when I think about friendship, I think about the benefits of having people around to chat with or share ideas. I mostly see friends as people who I can confide in and spend time with.
I usually don't see friends as stabilizers.
Stabilizers?
We can all comfortably agree that there will be storms in life. There will be moments where we cannot withstand the waves alone. And many of us will now think to ourselves: Yes, that's why we have Jesus. Which is true. 100%. But we also have people Jesus has intentionally put in our path to be vessels in which He can stabilize our hearts in the midst of storms... if only we'd let them.
Ecclesiastes talks about the benefits of having people in our lives do life with us. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up (Ecc. 4:9-10). Upon first glance, these verses made me think about the work of our hands and how a team could (and usually does) yield a better product than the ones we try to do on our own.
But what if we viewed "labor" as emotional labor, too? What if we intentionally brought those closest to us even closer to our worry and doubt and fear? What if we brought them into the fold, asked them to get their hands dirty with us as we examine the areas of our lives that bring the most shame?
Doing life alone is meaningless, at least according to Solomon. And you know what, at this point, I'd have to agree.
Victories are better celebrated when you have more than yourself to high five.
I agree - and sharing our ups and downs also gives us opportunities to tell others how God is moving in our lives and how He is answering prayers, which is so inspiring. ❤️