Sacred Friendships of Women

I have several wonderful "girlfriends" I love to spend time with. Lisa is my special friend to discuss deeply personal issues and spiritual truths. I love talking about the "Old Days" with Alice and "Kids, Remodeling and the Talk of the Day" with Dawn. My Mothers of Preschoolers group "The Bumper Car Beauties" (Don't Ask!) is a precious group of ladies I can cry with and bare my soul. I wouldn't trade any of these women for the world. There is something precious about having women friends you can feel completely comfortable with. Go to dinner or out to a movie with- without it being considered...How do I say this...You know, WEIRD.

I look at Christian men (in general) and see how this closeness is lacking. Men for the most part don't hug, don't go out in pairs, partially because of how it might be interpreted. Men often talk about how they'd like to have more friends. At noontime you're just as likely as not to see men sitting alone at a restaurant. Isolation.

Just recently CNN.com posted an article, "Why Women Are Leaving Men for Other Women" The story went onto say, "There's a new kind of sisterly love in the air..." The headlines are bombarding us with stories of celebrities and their new "loves." From Ellen to Lindsay, movies to chart-topping songs, women are being encouraged to try a new kind of lifestyle. What grieves me about this is that by pushing the "normalcy" of that sort of female relationship, true honest-to-goodness-hug-and-cry friendships suffer. They seem tainted. A loss of innocence.

I recently read the passage in 2 Samuel about the death of Jonathan, King David's best friend. David said, "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women." (2 Samuel 1:26.) Some scholars have concluded from that passage that David and Jonathan had some sort of "beyond friendship" relationship. I have to admit myself that I was taken back when I read that verse myself. But maybe that's the problem. Guys shouldn't have to feel the need to be stoic and handshake-only. It is the degradation of our society's morals that has confined men to relate to one another in only two areas: business and sports. That's a sad commentary.

Women have historically had the freedom to be hands-on with one another. We've been close, with no questions asked. It would be great loss to our society if women stopped sharing and hugging. I'd never really thought about it before but a Biblical stand for traditional marriage is also a stand for the sacredness of true friendship. I just love my Godly girlfriends- and that's perfectly okay.