Holy friends

I'm grateful for holy friends.

I reckon this whole article is worth a read. Here's a pithy extract...

Holy friends are those people who challenge the sins we have come to love—they know us well enough to see the sins that mark our lives. It isn't difficult to find people who will talk with us about sins we already hate. But the sins that we love we tend to hide from others and even from ourselves. This is why we need other people to hold us accountable.

Holy friends also help us discern God's work in our lives and affirm gifts that we are afraid to claim. They help us to dream God's dreams in ways we otherwise never would have. It isn't difficult to have sycophants telling us things neither they nor we believe; nor is it difficult to find truthful people who affirm gifts about which we already know. But holy friends point us to new avenues of relationship and activity that can enable us to grow in relation to God and others—and thereby also to discover the selves God calls us to be.

Lately, I've been really enjoying the challenge, encouragement, nourishment and joy that my friends bring me. It's no surprise as I read the above that I've also been enjoying finding myself, being myself and stretching myself!

Thank you, holy friends.