I feel like I don’t have any friends, she confided in me.

I mean, I have friends, she listed some, but I never see them.

I could relate. In the weekly busyness, it’s easy to lose consistent contact with friends. Some of my best friends have moved out of state, and when I moved to San Diego 8 years ago, I found myself friendless. We all have friends that we rarely see. Perhaps we are the culprits, having become so busy that we have lost a consistent connection with them.

What I’ve discovered is,

deep soul satisfying friendship requires weekly time and conversation.

I’ve also discovered I cannot have this type of friendship with everyone. It requires time and committment.

I protect these friendships by protecting my weekly time with them. One of my friends is a co-worker and we have set aside our Thursday lunch break to spend time together. Another has become my Saturday morning workout buddy. We get up early so as not to miss time with our husbands to run. Setting aside this time and protecting it allows us to stay current on our lives.

During our time together we protect our conversation. It’s easy to talk about nothing, but  we are committed to going deeper: discussing our struggles, dreams and successes. To be known and to know.

Finally, as Christians, we protect by praying for each other. We do not have the answers to one another’s problems. We are not powerful and all-knowing, but God is. Praying allows me to lift my friend up to God, asking Him to guide and protect her.

These friendships add depth, joy and love to my life.

How do you protect your friendships?