I am the type of person who can easily befriend people.  I genuinely like people, but I have an interesting time because I am neither a complete introvert, nor am I completely extroverted either.  I am somewhere in the middle, an ambivert.

I love being around people but hate crowds.  I crave time with my friends and family but absolutely love to be alone.  In order to be at my best when around people, I need some good quality time alone, just me and my Abba, chillin’.

Growing up, because I had so many friends, I had to learn albeit the hard way that just because a person was my friend, didn’t necessarily mean I could share everything with them.  Shoot, experience has taught me that I am not even at liberty to completely share with family.

I remember sharing things about my marriage with a friend who was never married and didn’t have children.  That part alone would be a red flag for some, but it wasn’t for me.  She was a dear, close friend and I naturally wanted to share my life with her.  The problem was, she not only didn’t have any frame of reference (which I don’t believe has to be a problem, btw…), but she totally lacked the maturity to handle what I wanted to share.  She’d often give me advice that I wasn’t asking for, and it was always destructive.  Thankfully, I had sense enough to never follow any of her advice, or else, I may not be married today.  Eventually, I stopped sharing things with her that I knew she couldn’t handle.

We have to learn to use wisdom and discernment when sharing with others.  Anyone. Period. It doesn’t take very long for people to tell and/or show you who they are, always believe them right away.

I thank God that I now have close friends that He chose for me, friends who are mature and very prophetic as well.  We have such an amazing circle of unity and love.  Time after time, they have proven themselves to be women of faith who are deeply rooted in Christ and his ways.  I can’t thank God enough for them.  They keep me on my toes! We don’t coddle each other in destructive, enabling ways.  We speak the truth in love and help each other to come up higher. My girls are sharp!!

The Word says in Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” My prayer for you this week is that you have the same type of relationships.  I pray you have relationships where you are sharpening your friends, and they in turn, help to sharpen you.  We need each other, and thank God He’s designed us this way.  We were never designed to do life alone.  We were made to be and have a family.  So go on with your sharp self! Be that iron that helps sharpen others, and allow them to do the same, and sharpen you.