Growing up, I didn't have a lot of close friends. I had people who I called my friends but turns out we were only friends due to me having to see them 8 hours a day at school. Recently I've learned the importance of friends and the impact that good and bad friends have on your life. I have been blessed with such great and Godly friends who point me and push me closer to Christ. I'm thankful for them but it hasn't always been so great.

If you read one of my recent articles, I wrote about how we can find comfort in seasons of being uncomfortable (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-comfort-being-uncomfortable). When I graduated high school, I was taken out of my comfort zone of friends and thrust into a new, exciting, and scary world without the comfort of knowing anyone. It was a time of trial and trust in God and I grew more in my faith then than I ever had previously.

Due to me having success without a lot of help from people, a person that I dearly loved and cared for turning their back on me, and a fear of being vulnerable with people, I decided that I didn't need anyone to help me and that all I needed was myself and a little determination. I lived by a phrase called DTA. Don't Trust Anybody. I was scared to let people in for fear of being hurt again and I decided that if I just didn't let anyone in, I could avoid being hurt. Now, I've been wrong before plenty of times before. I'm currently wrong about a lot of things. I have never been more wrong than when I thought I could take on life by myself and still be successful. Let me be the first to tell you that you will wear yourself out trying to be successful in life and not talk to anyone. You will eventually come to a point where you're tired of carrying your burdens alone. That's where God and good friends come in.

I currently have the best friends in the world. They are all so unique but we share a common bond: Jesus. We are all sinners in need of a savior. We recognize that need and love each other for Christ loves them as well. I'm so thankful that God heard my cry so long ago about how I needed people and how I couldn't do it alone anymore, and He sent me the exact people I need in my life. People who challenge me, uplift me, and encourage me when I'm down. I'm thankful and honored to be friends with such Christlike individuals.

Now, don't get me wrong, friends shouldn't take the place of God. Your relationship with the Creator takes precedence over your relationship with people but man was not made to be alone. It causes stress, anxiety, and depression when you feel alone. I've been in both places personally, with friends and without, and I much prefer to have someone help carry the burdens of life with me. We need people. Friendship is messy. It is hard. You might get stabbed in the back and end up hurt, but the payoff is so worth it. Being there for someone in times of hardship and in times of pure joy is worth the hours, weeks, even years of work it takes to build friendship. Jesus was a friend to those who He knew would never accept Him or even care about Him, but He was a friend regardless. I encourage you to seek out those you can be a friend to this week. Be Jesus to people this week. Much love and God bless.