Too Busy to be a Friend

Too Busy to be a Friend

Why do I always try to be friends with people that are too busy to be a friend? Is it that they are too busy or am I too busy? I do have some friends but not many. Most of them are my friends because they were my husband’s first. I am not the socialite that has to have lots of people around me all the time but, I do get lonely sometimes for a close friend. I look around and see people that are friends and hear them talk and even sometimes get jealous. I wonder am I not “close friend material?” Maybe. I think mostly it is just that we all are too busy to foster the relationship. We spend our entire time on our kids and our jobs that we never become really close with anyone other than our family. What happens when our kids are out of school and move on or we retire? What will the empty nest feel like? Will we have spent so much time on our kid’s lives and jobs that we have no life? I’m not saying that we should not spend time with our children or not have a carrier I’m just saying there should be some type of balance. I read an article in NewsWeek that said divorce rate among people that have been married 20-40 yrs is on the increase. My first thought is, my gosh, after that much time together have they not worked out all the problems. Then I thought who in the world would want to start over at that point? Now I wonder why? Well, I have been thinking about that why. What happens when we are so busy with our kids lives and our carriers that that is all we do? We foster a relationship with our kids and do not work on our relationship with our friends or our husbands. Now, no one is complaining the husband and the wife agree on the way they raise their children, no worries. Then when the children get older and move on the husband and wife are left in the house, alone. They are sitting in their recliners looking at each other thinking I don’t know this person; we don’t even have the same interests now that our kids are gone. This kinda morphed into divorce (that is a whole different jenny ism) but, I guess it is the principle. We get so busy and don’t create time for the other people in our lives that we lose them. A good friend is just as important as a husband. What if these empty nesters had a good friend to talk to; to help them get through the empty nest stage? Would it help? I think it would. Well, if we do not keep our friends along the way we will not have that option. Your relationship with your friends is just like your relationship with your spouse and children, you will get out of it what you put into it. There is a saying that a good friend will always be there for you. Is this true? To a point yes but, if you have put that friendship on a shelf can you really expect it to be good later?

Pray the mountain is not yours to climb.

As I read 2 Chronicles 20 I was amazed at the faith King Jehoshaphat had in God……..
2 Chronicles 20:2, 6, 14-15, 18, 20, 22-23
2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar." (This was another name for En-gedi.)

Can you imagine how King Jehoshaphat felt? He has just been told this huge army is marching against him and he knows he does not have the resources to beat them. Do you ever feel you have an army marching towards you? What does your enemy’s army look like? It might be bills, a deadline at work, or a relationship that needs help. You can relate to what King Jehoshaphat was going through, the anxiety and pressure knowing that if you do not defeat your “enemy’s army” it can affect the people you care for. So what did King Jehoshaphat do?

6 He prayed, "O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!

Yep, that’s right he prayed. He did not gripe or complain.

14 the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. 15 He said, "Listen, King Jehoshaphat! Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

Through Jahaziel God told King Jehoshaphat and his people the battle is not yours, but God’s. God wants you to know you are not alone and through him all battles can be won.

18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD.
20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, "Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed."

Amazing! They have an army size problem pressing down on them and what do they do, they march out into the wilderness. How do they do it? God said don’t be afraid or discouraged for the battle is not yours. The key is they believe in him and guess what he came through. It is funny after a "battle" sometimes we are amazed and think wow God did it, like we had doubt. What a let down that must be for God.

22 At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other.

God fought their battle and God won the battle.
……. As I finished reading I was ashamed at how little faith I sometimes put in God. Have faith in God believe in him and let him fight because the battle is his.