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That's Why Friends Are So Important

Katie Hunter
Dec 3, 2015
3 min read

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Steel Magnolias.

Pitch Perfect.

Mom's Night Out.

I may, or may not have seen all of these movies in their entirety, but I felt they went along with the friendship theme of today's post. The premise of these movies revolves mostly around friendship and the sisterhood that comes through those relationships. Believe me when I say that for the mental health of women, girlfriends are essential in keeping each other in check.....and sane.

Living far away from family, I have had my eyes opened to the value of good friendships. Within a few short days of moving to Ohio, we were embraced by some incredibly genuine and welcoming friends. It was their kindness that put my heart at ease and helped me to believe that all would be well and we would survive the ensuing years of graduate school.

Through the past year and half I have developed even more friendships and strengthened the relationships I already had. I have tried to put into words the hunger I have for "girl talk" and how relieved and de-stressed I feel after a good girls' night out. There is honestly nothing else like it for me in the world.

Please don't get me wrong. My husband is truly my best friend in the whole world. He knows my heart inside and out and he has been such a champ through the ups and downs of the past 18 months. But there is something women find in friendship that really helps us to push along. Maybe it is that we have peers in the same situation as us and can related to the minute details of our lives. Maybe it's just that the silly, somewhat crazy, part of us that comes out when we are in the company of women is liberating. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but I tell you what, friends are SO important.

Today, I was spending some time with some of my close friends and we were discussing the trials and challenges of our current lives. We are all so thankful for our many blessings, but we are also all trying to navigate the emotions of our current situations.

Being a mother is a strang dichotomy. It is what I have wanted to be my entire life. I always wanted a sexy husband (check) and beautiful children (check, check, and check), but as I have expressed before, I didn't imagine it would be as challenging as it is, nor has it been the picture or perfection I imagined in my youth. I have been seeking the answer to finding more joy in my parenting and my life in general, and today my friends were an answer to that prayer.

One humbly shared that she has been praying lately to experience more joy in her parenting. Another said that daily scripture study has been extremely helpful. Another said that she has been trying to be better at physically expressing love through hugs and other forms of affection. I sat and listened to each of them bear testimony of how these small changes have made a huge impact on their perspective. They all said that these changes have by no means taken the trials or challenges away, nor have they made them the perfect parent, but they have invited the spirit more in their lives and it has felt different.

I sat there thinking, I definitely have not been as diligent with my scripture study, I have not been praying for a change of heart, and I have most definitely not been very affectionate.

More often than not, when I have these thoughts it starts a vicious mental cycle of how I am falling short, but this time I took it for what it was meant to be. It was a gentle ushering from the Holy Ghost to try to make some small changes. I drove home with a simple prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father, for not only placing wonderful friends in my life, but for giving them both the courage and willingness to bear their testimony to me of the importance of living the basic principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you ever feel impressed to share personal things like your testimony to your friends about how the Gospel has helped to improve you life, please act upon those promptings. You never know when a simple truth that has helped you could influence the lives of others.

This is what we are here for. This is why the Lord places the people in our lives that He does. We are all here to answer one anothers prayers, and for that I am truly thankful. Here is to friendship!