Kingdom sisterhood.

“And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I have some incredible women in my life that have blown me away in the ways they pursue the Lord and love others. Some of my close friends and my sisters have become more precious to me than ever, and I’m always grateful for the fruit that has come from these relationships. They are by no means perfect, like not at all, but they are sweet and I deeply cherish them. I remember some early college years feeling lonely in my walk with Jesus, and I was continuously praying and asking God to show me what He intended friendship to look like. He has been answering this prayer, and I just want to share a bit. <3

We know community is important, and Kingdom-minded sisterhood is the kind of community we want to cultivate. He is calling you to be a Kingdom-minded friend. As you become more like Christ in the ways you love your friends, others will follow your lead! Live to become the friend that Jesus has called you to be, and let God produce the fruit. Know that when we stumble, we look to Jesus to land on our feet again. Know that when we mess up, there is always enough grace. Know that we aren’t yet who we will be, but we can always be growing. <3 

Relationships and friendships can get complicated, but keeping Jesus at the center can be simple! Whether you feel you are surrounded by Kingdom-minded friends or you feel alone, know that God is calling you to be the friend that another may be praying for—a friend to someone who does know Jesus, or maybe to someone who doesn’t. These are just three simple things from scripture that we can focus on to grow. 

Share life together. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 

We love our friends so much that we don’t only want to share with them who Jesus is and then move on, but rather, we want to share a real and authentic life with them. Of course we may not live with our best friends for our whole lives, but I learned a lot while I was roommates with one of my closest friends in college. One night, I hadn’t been able to sleep because I was anxious about some things in my life that felt out of my control, and around 2 am I felt like I had enough. I just prayed that God would send me help and give me peace, somehow. Out of nowhere, my roommate knocked on my door quietly and came and sat with me, listened to me and prayed over me. I’ll never forget how I felt in that moment—relief and peace washing over me, feeling so loved and seen by God and my friend who blessed me more than she’d ever known in that moment. 

Showing up to celebrate the joyous seasons, to support in the hard seasons, and to embrace the mundane rhythms of everyday life deeply impacts our relationships. We encourage and exhort one another, we worship together, we laugh together, and we show up for the important things. We aren’t meant to do life alone for ourselves, but rather, with others for the purpose of blessing others.

We are all a part of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Hebrews 10:24-25

The Church functions like a body—we all have roles, strengths and weaknesses, and together we are strong. Each of us are uniquely knitted together intentionally by our Creator. In Christ, we work beautifully in unity when we cheer one another on to do the work the Lord has set before us. There is a place for each of us and we are unified in sharing one faith, in serving the one true God, filled by the same Spirit of God, and believing in the one true gospel together. We are to have the same concern for one another, letting nothing divide us (1 Cor. 12:25). We live this life on mission, and we are at our best when we are unified and together. 

Do it all in love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

As you may be able to assume, my sisters are two of the dearest people to my heart and throughout our lives, have also been the messiest relationships. We’ve been in each other's lives through all of the awkward stages, all of the annoying little sister phases, living with each other then moving away, marriages and babies, and the list goes on. We have all messed up and driven each other crazy too many times to count, but with Christs’ love at the center we continually find forgiveness, grace, joy, patience, and growth. Our sisterhood has never been and never will be perfect, but with Christ’s love at the center, I cherish them with my whole heart. I’ll take authenticity and real, messy life ANY DAY over an empty relationship.

As we work, serve and strive to be a “good” friend, it all means nothing if it’s not rooted and established in love. No matter how hard we work to be who we think we should be, our relationships will bear no fruit if Christ’s love is not at the core. We can be good friends in good relationships, but we are missing out if we do not have genuine love for one another. Only when we receive His love can we extend His love to those around us. We have nothing if we do not have love (1 Cor. 13:1-3). 

May you and I be people who are quick to be a friend to another. May we love our friends because of the love we have first received from Christ. May we see God’s command to love others as ourselves as a great joy and an exciting call on our lives! If we want to make an impact, we can look around and see the people who are standing right near us. No time or energy invested in another is wasted. <3