Welcome to Day 9 of 31 Days of Connection! Stop by the first day of 31 Days of Connection to get links to the whole series as each post is published. Click here to sign up to receive the posts by email.

Connecting With Friends

We’ve talked about connecting with family, but connecting with friends is also very important. Friendship is a true blessing. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced a season without friends or at least without nearby friends. It can be lonely and difficult. Having the kind of friends who are lifetime friends no matter how often you talk to each other is an amazing thing. But what takes somebody from acquaintance to friend and then from friend to lifetime friend? Connection and maintaining or growing that connection.

Helping an acquaintance grow into a friendship requires connecting on some level. It could be getting together for a playdate, or breakfast, or through doing an activity together. The connection might happen digitally, over the phone, or even through handwritten correspondence. There are so many ways that friendships are developed. The connection usually occurs because of things you have in common and talking about life and really listening to each other. We might have 1 friend or 100 friends, but we have connected with them all in some way.

We may have friends that we see regularly and do things with, and then other friends that are those forever friends that have your back no matter what – the ones you call when life gets too hard to handle. The reason those friends have become so close is because of a deeper connection that has usually developed because you have talked about the real hard stuff of life or you have gone through a difficult experience together or you have grown up together and have so much in common that you are practically family. These friendships are lasting and true. Growing a friendship into this lifetime friendship only happens with that deeper connection.

In order to keep friendships flourishing, we need to work on continuing to connect. A friendship can be like a flowering plant. The more attention and care you give it, the more it grows and flowers. If it’s neglected, the blooms die off and the growth is stunted, though the roots remain and stay strong. I am certainly guilty of neglecting friendships and allowing the growth to be stunted. Connecting with friends and growing our friendships means taking extra time and making the effort to get together and to talk, or sometimes just to listen. It’s a small sacrifice for a huge reward.

Day 9 Daily Connection Challenge:
If you have an acquaintance that you’d like to develop a friendship with, reach out today to connect through a Facebook friendship, a call, or an invite to an event or outing that you would enjoy together. If you have a friend that could turn into one of those special forever friends, take time today to write or call or schedule time to get together one-on-one to talk about life. And take a little time to nurture your existing friendships by connecting sometime in the next few days in a way that your friend(s) will appreciate.

Thank you for joining me on Day 9 of 31 Days of Connection! See you back here for Day 10. Have you had any light bulb moments from these connection posts? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone in any way to achieve a daily challenge? I would love to hear about it in the comments!