Faith Filled Family Magazine December 2016 | Page 49

read my Bible because I did not
want to appear biblically illiterate amongst a group that clearly
studied their Bible. Yes, it was
pure vanity at first, even so I later
fell in love with Word of God. As
I grew in the Word, I also grew in
integrity because suddenly I had
new friends that would hold me
accountable to a lifestyle that reflected the love and standard of
Jesus Christ.
Although I was adamantly opposed to making friends, I soon
learned that these friends were
the very reason that I continued

to go to church and grow closer
to God. For several years, I seriously contemplated leaving
the church and going back to a
lifestyle with no accountability.
It was difficult for me accept accountability after nearly a decade
of having to answer to no one.
Yes, I wanted to please God and
get to know Him more, however
there were many days where I
simply felt like it was impossible
for me to change.
Unhealthy relationships, depression, over commitment, financial
strain, codependency, wanting to
drink, have sex, and party- these
were all areas that I struggled
with during my first years back
in church and these were some
of the reasons why I wanted to
leave the church. The only reason why I stayed in church was
because the people that I had
built relationships which encouraged me and they prayed with

me. They loved me enough to
hold me accountable, fast with
me, have coffee and dinner with
me, invest in me, and tell me the
truth. They loved me way that
Jesus loves me- patiently, kindly,
and unconditionally.

As the years pass, I am increasingly aware of how blessed I
was to have so many great
friends during my first years
back with the Lord. However,
I want to paint an accurate
picture for you. As wonderful
these friends were, they are
not all a part of my current

life. Several moved away, and
with others we grew apart. It
hurts, yet I learned that it is a
mistake to be so busy grieving
for an old friendship, that you
are not willing to invest into a
new friendship. We must value
and love each member of the

body of Christ while recognizing
that it is not possible to maintain
close relationship with everyone.
Even Jesus had 12 disciples. I
am introverted, so I tell myself
that if Jesus Himself chose only
12 close friendships, then surely
I can chose just four or five! 
The number of close relationships that a person can health-

ily maintain varies from person
to person. My point is that we