"Friends Are Friends Forever"

Yesterday on the prayer calendar we were to pray for our husbands relationships. Reading in the portion in the book "Power Of A Praying Wife" was an encouragement to me in realizing the value of our external relationships with people outside our marriages. As I read, it occurred to me what an amazing blessing we have been given through the focus our church has on fellowship and family. Here is a portion taken from the chapter on Relationships:

"Isolation is not healthy. We all need the influence of good people to keep us on the right path. Every married couple should have at least two strong believing couples with whom they can share encouragement, strength, and the richness of their lives. Being around such people....is fulfilling and it helps us keep perspective when things seem to grow out of proportion. Having the positive qualities of other people rub off on us is the best thing for a marriage."

I have seen the benefits of such "relationships" first hand and have experienced the "rubbing off of positive qualities". Scott and I have even been our way to a friends house and been in an argument, gotten there and ended up enjoying our time immensely and left feeling connected and happy with each other. Remarkable!

Maybe a challenge for this week or in the upcoming week could be to make time to get together with another couple and enjoy some encouraging fellowship...maybe even spur each other on a bit in the process! How blessed we are that God gave us the ability to "meet together with one another in love"!