One Sassy Ma: Internet Cafe Devotions

Girlfriends Will Come and Go: "

I often throw out questions on the Praise and Coffee Facebook page that give me a glimpse into the lives of women. Some are thought provoking, some are just fun. A while back I asked, “Who’s your favorite girlfriend to have a cup of coffee with?”

Women left names of their best buds with exclamation points and smiley faces (of which I am a chronic over-user), but I also received several inbox messages from women whose hearts were broken because they don’t have a close girlfriend to share coffee or life with.

They wrote notes laced with shame as if they were not worthy of such precious relationships. It made me sad and my former co-dependent self wanted to jump on a plane with a Praise and Coffee mug in my carry-on and wipe away all their tears over a grande caramel-macchiato.

But I knew better. Even if it were possible for me to be there with them, it would only be a temporary fix.

I’ve been in that place of loneliness. When it feels like the whole world has walked out and the quietness screams that you’re not worthy of the joy that a good friendship can bring. At times the enemy of our souls puts a spin on circumstances and leaves us with a feeling of abandonment at every turn.

When it happened to me, I cried helplessly to God for comfort and hope and realized that He was waiting for that the whole time. So often He thwarts our attempts to find solace anywhere else while relentlessly pursuing us to show that a relationship with Him far surpasses any relationship this world has to offer.

When I asked the question on Facebook, it highlighted what seemed to be a loss in the lives of many women, but I believe that most often there is a reason that the Lord allows us to come to that place of emptiness. He longs for us to run to Him so He can breathe life into the dry, desperate corners of our heart.

Next time you’re feeling lonely, I encourage you to see it –not as rejection- but instead an invitation to a relationship that offers life and hope, love and laughter.

1 Cor 1:8-9, NLT

He will keep you strong right up to the end, and He will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will surely do this for you, for He always does just what He says, and He is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Girlfriends will come and go, but our Lord stays and longs for us to stay too. Will you?