Three Kinds of Friends

Ever feel like this?  

Or like this?  

I have been thinking recently about the three types of relationships that we should each be in with other women.  Each of us should have an older or wiser woman in our life that we look up to and who serves as a mentor to us. 

 For me that is my sweet sister-in-law.  She has children older than mine and I have been watching her and learning from her godly wisdom for years.  She listens to my heart and prays with me.  I love her kids like my own and they have been great mentors to my boys as well.  Though she is really only about 5 years older than I am, her stage of life and wisdom make her a wonderful mentor.  My relationship with her has sustained me, molded and shaped me.  And I continue to learn from her.

Look around and make friends with somebody older and wiser than you.  You won't regret it.

The second type of woman we should each have in our life is the good old BFF.  A best friend who is at a similar stage of life.  Someone who is experiencing the same types of things you are.

For me, this is a spunky friend I have been doing life with for about 20 years now.  We have kids similar ages.  We talked for hours on end when our kids were younger about the daily things and how to handle them.  She was there for me when my basement flooded with a shop vac and helped me paint and clean before graduation parties.  Our families have camped together, our children have grown up together. We study the Bible together and our husbands even like each other.  We have shed tears together as our children leave the nest one by one and I shared her joy when her oldest married and then later had her first child.  

Make sure you have a friend to invest in.  Someone to share life with.  Someone who is walking a similar path.  

The third type of woman you should have in your life is a younger woman.  You need someone to pour into.  Someone you can mentor.  You don't need to have arrived or have everything together to do this.  There is a younger woman out there who can learn from you.  Maybe she isn't yet married, or is newly married.  Maybe she has younger children than you do.   Maybe she is new to homeschooling.  

For me, there are a couple in particular that I feel blessed to be in that type of relationship with.  One is a nephew's wife.  We walk together and talk.  We text.  She calls me and says,  "Help!  What do you do when....?" (much the way I do with my sister-in-law)  I don't have all of the answers, but I can share what I have learned through the years.  Maybe it will make her path a little easier.  

Invest in someone else.  That's a part of the tapestry of life that makes it so beautiful.  You may not feel like you have much to give, but you do.  Really.  You do.

And, (now I make a shameless plug) if you want to put some of this into practice.  Join us Thursday, February 27 at Rancho Grande here in Atlantic.  At 6:00 we are having a "Mom's Night Out".  Bring a friend if you want.  Some moms that homeschool and want to get together to laugh, share some stories, encourage each other and eat some great Mexican food.  Hopefully I will see you there!