Kindred Souls & Cheerleaders

My sweet and wonderful friend Sara finished her book within the past week. She also finished her master’s degree, announced her third pregnancy, and celebrated her 28th birthday. If she doesn’t toot her horn, I will, cause girlfriend is fierce. I love it.

Sara & I have known each other for a few years now, and I’ve been cheering her on from afar from day one. We’re kindred spirits in so many ways. I, for one, have always felt like a loner-creative with writing. I never had someone who got it just like me. And then I met Sara, who writes, blogs, dreams, and talks in ways that I get. Ways that make me exhale with a joyful nod, as if to say, “You get me!”

I love that God has delivered and brought me good, wise, intentional people. Sara is just one. Getting to cheer her on and knowing she does the same for me is like icing on the cake to being a follower of Jesus. It makes life so much sweeter.

While I was getting myself ice cream last night after conceding that I wasn’t going to do yoga (priorities), I was praying over this post. I’m gonna be straight: cheering on your friends is not always easy. We are prone to envy. It takes the important realization that God is sovereign, He is good, He is the most important, and I come second. All I kept hearing in my thoughts was, “Cheer for her. What’s for her could be different than what’s for you.” Her being all the other women I know. All the other moms I know. The other writers, the other twenty-somethings. I don’t put my needs to the side. It’s that I agree: others’ needs are equally as important as my own. One of the most powerful things I can do is advocate for their cause too.

I get to cheer on my sweet friend, most times from afar because we have five kids between the both of us and lives that do not slow down. The moments we do get to grab coffee and catch up are rich with talk about how good God is. What’s for her is good, worthy, important, and holy work. Equally as important as whatever He has for me. We cheer each other on because it defeats the temptation for envy. We advocate for people we love hard because we want God’s glory to rain down. We want God to get glory because He is a good God.

So, cheer for your women. Cheer for your men. Encourage those around you to do their thing, because God sure doesn’t give us gifts, promptings, callings for no reason. We give Him glory when we do His work. Let’s be a people who do that together.