thegypsymama says:

Hi there Meg –

I came over from the comment you left on InCourage and can I just say how much I love, love, LOVE your blog design!! It is sooo fabulous and fun. And with a ministry as important as yours, I trust that the Lord uses it to bless and encourage many! I have friends who are military wives and I am constantly amazed by their strength and courage. Blessings on all you do!

Lisa-Jo

heidi @ wonder woman wannabe says:

I think in times of struggle, those are the best opportunities for growth esp. in the Lord, if you let Him.

Often, when I’m facing anxieties of many kinds I start offering them up in the form of prayers. Phil 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
I don’t always do this first, however, when I finally do, it makes all the difference.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog the other day. I tried responding to your comment via my email, but there was no email for you and I don’t see contact info for you on your blog, so I’ll include it below.
Blessings to you,

————————————————————————
Yes, friendships are so important aren’t they? They inspire us, encourage us, cheer and spur us on.

I know a thing or two about moving and having to make new
friends as well (though probably not as much as you) In the almost 10 years that I’ve been married, we’ve lived in 3 different places none of which did we have any real solid contacts.

Another move is on our horizon as my hubby has been applying for full time teaching jobs all over the country for the fall.

I’ve found that it helps to hang out in the places that I enjoy and try my best to to strike up a conversation with a friendly looking person if I have the time while I’m there. At least, we’ll have that place/experience in common.

I met my closest friend in the current town we live in at a story time session for babies at our local library. We found our boys were just born days apart and by chatting for just 5-10 minutes we found we have even more in common (we were both new to the area, both our husbands were working on graduate degrees etc.) If I had not gone out of my comfort zone and just struck up a conversation, we may never have connected and made plans to get together again soon for a play date with our boys.

3 years later our boys have literally grown up together, we’ve each had another baby boy (born 2 months apart) and cheered our husbands on in their respective programs.

Of course, church bodies are also a wonderful way to make an instant connection. We always try to get plugged into a small group right away after committing to whatever church we’ll attend to gain community which is hard to come by if the only time you see other folks is at the church service with the 10-15 minutes of chit chat you can get, you know?

I’ve just said a little prayer for you that you’d be encouraged and find that kindred spirit, or two or MORE to fill that friendship space open in your present state.

~h

Dena says:

Thanks so much for the encouragement.I agree, making new friends takes getting out of your comfort zone and connecting with a good church. I’m learning how valuable a solid church family is the more that we move.God has blessed me with several budding relationships here in this new town, and there all from church! For me, at least, it just takes time for those friendships to grow deeper. I’m not one to immediately open up and share all of my secrets. I’m a woman of layers I guess you could say.God is always pushing me to jump out a little deeper and trust others, if that makes sense.Just the same, it’s wonderful seeing how God blesses us wherever we move, even if I do miss friends from the old towns oh-so-much!
+1