So, today, I’m going to write about friendships. Obviously, you can tell in my title that I think we need them, but that could easily just be my opinion, right?

In the Bible, there are so many instances where someone has a friend. All the disciples? They were friends, and some of them were brothers. Jesus was their friend. Jesus had childhood friends, like Lazarus. Jesus’s friends were the disciples, even when He knew that they were all sinful and imperfect and nothing compared to him.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4 ESV) Jesus always looked out for his best buds, and we should too!

Having a healthy life requires having intimacy. Without having anybody to confide in or trust, we keep problems, worries/anxieties, fears, (and lots of other bad stuff) stuck inside our heads. I’ve personally dealt with this, and let me tell you…It SUCKS. Like, a lot. I felt as if nobody understood me, I had no purpose, there was nobody for me to help or empathize with. Now, to be honest, I didn’t try hard, because I secretly (I almost didn’t realize it myself) enjoyed feeling that self-pity. And that wasn’t healthy! But then, I found an amazing youth group, incredibly understanding friends, and I actually felt a lot better after opening up to them!

So, in conclusion, we all need friends to have a mentally healthy life. (Extra interesting fact: if your mental health is not great, or is decreasing, it will negatively affect your physical, emotional, and spiritual health as well. You need to look after all of your health in the sense that, if one comes crashing down, it will soon lead the others to come down too.)

With intimacy so many good things come! You not only make good memories with that friend, but you can remember those memories together. You have the time to make more memories. You can share the weight of pain, and share each other’s happiness! Sharing someone’s joy in their (or your) good news is an amazing feeling. Seriously, I’m not saying that to be cheesy. When I found out that I started this blog actually, my best friends were so happy and so supportive for me. They shared that happiness! And I try to do the same thing for them. ;)

Without intimacy, we become depressed, anxious, and have many other bad feelings. God created us to have friends, and the cool thing is: He is your friend too. Whether you write a journal to God, or letters, or sing, or talk, He is always there for you to confide in. He is the Ultimate Friend.

~Willow