Welcoming Friendship In Recovery
Some of us slid into destructive and addictive lifestyles out of a desire to belong and have friends. We longed to be known and supported. We wanted to matter to someone. We longed to have people around us who would enrich our lives by just being together with them. The ongoing pain of loneliness, even in recovery, is a challenge to maintaining sobriety. Thankfully, through His word, God gives us instruction on how to build lasting friendships.
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. (Proverbs 18:24 NIV, Proverbs 27:17 NLT)
Healthy friendships are characterized by mutual respect and sharing. They are based on love, caring, and interest in the wellbeing of each other. Friends discuss God’s word, pray for each other, and build each other up. They laugh, they weep, they mourn, and they rejoice with each other depending on the season of life. They share their experience, strength, and hope with each other whenever they talk together. When it’s appropriate they even hold each other accountable.
To live well the life God created us to live it’s good to ask ourselves, “How am I being a friend?” “How am I welcoming the presence of healthy friends into my daily life?”
Prayer: Thank You God for the opportunity I have been given to be a friend and to welcome friendship with others. Teach me how to do that well as You restore me to life and a relationship with You and others that I was created to enjoy. Amen
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