Life is Crazy Keep Your Friends Close

Let’s be honest life is CRAZY! No matter what we do to try and make it not crazy something is gonna come up. Someone is gonna say something, something you do is gonna cause chaos. I’ve learned and seen this a lot in my life, but we cannot be hermits that never do anything (sorry not sorry). Being in community with people is one of the most important things we can do.

Community makes life fun! Your friends and mentors are there to help you through the craziness that is life. In the craziest times and most stressful times of my life my friends (community) have always been there. I can look at my friends and know an exact moment when they have either been there for the craziness that is my life. I can remember a time where they have prayed over me or sat with me while having a panic attack. And sorry to say if you don’t have friends like this then you should really find some!

I’ve always had a hard time making and keeping friends because I hold myself to a set of standards that not everyone understands or likes. In high school especially I had a hard time, I would jump from friend group to friend group or have friends from other schools. After I graduated is really high school all my friends and I stopped talking and we went through a lot in high school and the loss of a friend doesn’t ever help with that. My friends in high school were great love them, we were just not forever friends and that’s OKAY. I got the privilege to know them and I’m grateful for that. Over my 4yrs in college and this year of my internship I have made friends that are my life-long people. 

The type of people who you call when you are spiraling into a panic attack. The kind of people you call when you just got the best news.

If any of my friends are reading this, yes I am bragging on you because you are amazing and have been there for me through the ups and downs and everything! 

Friends and mentors should someone you should be able to call if you’re having a rough time and need advice. When you can’t find a speaker/ leader for a camp and they clear their schedule to fly across country to help. That’s a lil specific, but you know what I mean.

This past weekend I directed a middle school winter weekend and the way the team I created, some I had never met before and some I’ve known for varying lengths of time, but the way they rallied around me to support the vision that I casted for the weekend. Ultimately the goal was to show and teach the campers about the love of God. And over the weekend we did just that we got to show kids who God truly is. On top of that the campers had an absolute blast and loved learning what we were teaching them! 

You never know where you are going to meet your people that you keep around forever is what I’m trying to say.

I always used to think I could survive life by myself and that I would be just fine without any friends or mentors (all my friends laugh at me now). Take it from me, I learned the hard way that I needed people. Going through grief and anxiety and health issues are no joke and should not be done. Even when you have a big surgery or procedure they ask and make sure you have a support system to stand behind you, back you up, and help you get through it. Even modern medicine sees why we need people in our corner. I don’t always agree with modern medicine on a bunch of things, but that iss definitely something I agree with. God created us to be communal people so why do we try so hard to avoid being that. 

As in my last post you guys learned how I had been learning to trust in God when everything in my life seemed to blow up. And this goes hand with that. I have sat through so many treatments and asthma attacks recently and sitting through my treatments for it by myself is so boring! My friends have been able to show up and sit with me, facetime me, snap chat me as I do them. Even last night as I couldn’t breathe 2 of my friends stayed up with me to 1 make sure I was okay but 2 make sure I actually did my treatments lol. 

Having my girls and guy friends around me and being able to talk to them about anything is my favorite thing! What makes you excited makes them excited and such like that. My whole point of this whole little rant is why do we (me included) try to avoid having people in our lives. Don’t go through life alone it’s not worth it. And it for sure as heck isn’t as fun. So find your people! Some people are in your life for a short period of time but some are in your life forever. Hold onto those forever people, be there for them as they are there for you. Take

care of your people and let them into the things going on in your life!

Love yall

-Steph <3

(P.S.- This is my little bestie and he is fine he wanted me to do that)