Joshua and I also have other married friends. They're people who are able to help strengthen us in our marriage, and who we have been able to encourage in theirs. We're also very good friends with all of our parents, and they are an amazing blessing to us as well.
It's since we've started making friends with other married couples that I have come to realize how incredibly important it is to have friends who are married.
Photo credit: photostock via www.freedigitalphotos.net
Finding married friends is easier for some people than others. Since we're so young, many of our peers are getting engaged but most of them aren't married yet. But if you're a stay-at-home mom with a busy working husband, the two of you might not have time to spend with other married couples. It might be a struggle to find time to get away without your kids.
Can I encourage you to try? And if you don't currently have any married friends, seek them out?
It's a blessing for married couples to have married friends for several reasons:
1) You can encourage each other, in so many ways. Each couple can encourage each other in their faith, in their parenting, in their romantic life, and in various aspects of their marriage.
2) Women need female friends and men need male friends. If you're friends with another married couple, it's a blessing for both you and your husband individually. Your spouse should be your best friend, but women understand each other in ways that men don't, and the same is true for men.
3) You can provide childcare for each other. If you struggle with finding time for a date night, you can exchange childcare with another couple. One night a week, you can take care of their children, and another night, they can watch yours. This way each couple gets some time alone, and it will save you money on babysitters!
4) You can be accountable to each other. If you and your spouse are struggling in an area of your marriage, ask trusted friends to hold you accountable to working on the problem.
5) Have fun together! When our friends still lived nearby, we had dinner with them almost every week, played games together, went on double-dates together, and spent a lot of time laughing together. We still do. :)
Having friends who you can go to with anything is a huge stress reliever. It's a spiritual lift--you can pray for each other and encourage each other in your faith. And it will add joy and peace to your life, when you can laugh together and enjoy being together.
If you have married friends, thank God for them! Tell them you're thankful for them. And enjoy the blessing of their friendship.
If you don't have any friends who are married, seek them out. Are their parents of your children's classmates with whom you have things in common? Are there other couples at your church around your age? Is there anyone at your workplace with whom you could begin a friendship? Ask God's guidance, and ask him to bring some friends in your life. God can bless you through your friends--and through you, he can bless them.
Today, I'm thanking God for my friends.
What about you? If you're married, do you have friends who are? What are you thankful for about them?
Linking today with: A Proverbs 31 Wife, Countrified Hicks (I'm featured here this week!!), The Alabaster Jar, What Joy is Mine, Raising Arrows, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom
I linked up after you over at Countrified Hicks. You have a really nice blog!! I like the idea of having other married couples for friends. That has always been a blessing. Have a wonderful week!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by, Judith! Glad you enjoyed the post. :) Blessings!
DeleteWe really don't have any close married friends. Mostly our guy friends come over on a regular basis and we hang out. I spend time with my girlfriends, too. A couple of them will be married in the next few years, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly totally fine with having single friends, since then I don't start feeling too old. lol.
As long as you're content with the friends you have, that's great! And I have several close friends who are single, too. :) It's good to have both!
DeleteI've prayed for a long time to find friends in a married couple. Thing is, it really hasn't happened. Hubby's friends are those he works with and mine are those I work with. Within our church there are several couples our age, but they all have kids, and since we didn't grow up around here, we are still somewhat of outsiders.
ReplyDeleteReally though, we are blessed in the friends that we have, but I love this list and will keep praying :)
I'm glad you do have friends who are a blessing! My mom had to wait years (she was nearly 40) before she met the woman who is the best friend she's ever had. So I know you'll have close friends one day, too. :)
DeleteFriends are so important, aren't they. Thank you for sharing this post. It seems like the older (and more family-oriented) you get, the harder (good) friends are to find. They're out there somewhere though, right? :)
ReplyDelete