Introduction from the mom:
I am so excited to share with you a blog post from Naomi, my 14 year old daughter. It was birthed from a conversation we had about how we as people wait for validation before we extend friendship to someone. We want others to come up to us first, we want to “fit” in, and we “grow weary in doing good”. I mentioned this topic sounds like a blog post. Naomi piped up, “can I write it”? I said absolutely. Let me introduce you to the young lady that challenges me continually to “run the race marked out for me”, to “not grow weary in doing good”, to keep showing up to a weary, tired, hurt world. Now a word of wisdom from Naomi.
The word of wisdom from Naomi:
6th grade was weird for me, and as I have been told it’s weird for everyone, I didn’t really have any friends, and being homeschooled didn’t help, not that I didn’t have any friends, but none went to my church, and church is a big deal to me because that is where I see the most people. Now, I spent most of that year feeling sorry for myself, no kids really went up to me and wanted to be my friend. So…finallyI! I made the decision that I was going to go up to kids and make friends, and the last two years of my middle school life I have a lot of friends, [like a lot!]
But it wasn’t easy. It’s not like I woke up one morning and had friends. The thing is, we live in a world where people wait for you to do the job and say hi, now that is not the way it should be at all!! So my friends it starts with you.
I’m a christian, and I can tell you God has changed my life!! He became my friend before I was his, and that is how we need to do it, God tells us we need to go and make disciples of all nations,and if we are not doing that in your own community church or school [or if you are like me and have a homeschool group] then we are not doing our job. It’s not easy and it’s scary, but doing shows others what to do. Not too long ago one of the girls I went up to at my church went up to a new girl and made her a new friend , later she told me that she did it because I went up to her.
I put myself out there and what happened was amazing, so all I can tell you is that if you wait you might not have any friends, go up and take the first step and say hi, when you do this people will do the same, now it can get relay tiring really fast because you are the one always pouring in to other people, but don’t stop, It took a really long time till I meet a like minded friend, but the work and the wait is is worth it!!!!!!