After hearing Victoria Strader in episode 113 on the podcast talk about the ways her friends gathered around her to meet some tangible needs for her family during a difficult time, it stuck with me. And, not for the reason you’d think. Victoria went on to tell me that her friends had gathered around her one night after a prenatal MRI when they got some scary unexpected news about her baby boy. But, it just wasn’t that they gathered around her, bought her non-sticking spray, provided meals, even cleaned out the trash out of her car that was most impactful.

What stuck with me is that while Victoria was telling me this story, she said “that night taught me about the friend that I want to be to others.” Wow. I know I look at kind things my friends do for me, and I’m like that’s so sweet, but rarely do I ponder and turn it on the flip side of what I could do for them.

I am reading the book, “Girls’ Club”, and one of the authors, Sarah Clarkson, said, “When we know that we are loved, we are ready to not just find a friend, but to be one.”

Victoria went one step further when she really translated it to how she could be a good friend to others after her friends had displayed that type of love. She also said how valuable it was for them to ask and that sometimes people are nervous to step into those spaces to meet a need. I know I sometimes am. Talking with Victoria really encouraged me to look at things around me in a different light, in a different way and I hope it encouraged you, too.