Thank God for Girlfriends

Sharon JaynesFriendship, Gratitude, Women in the Bible 91 Comments

Aren’t you thankful for girlfriends? I know I am. They’ve picked me up when I’ve been down, and set me straight when I’ve needed an attitude adjustment. Two of my neighbors really showed me how this thing called “friendship” is done. Here’s their story.

Looking out my den window I noticed two of my neighbors puttering slowly down the street. Ernestine, with her bald head snuggled in a woolen cap, held tightly to Patti’s supporting arm. Patti’s chestnut hair, just two inches long, shone like a victor’s crown of a cancer survivor.

The previous year, Patti discovered she had breast cancer. For three months she endured chemotherapy followed by seven weeks of radiation. As God would have it, her final treatment fell on Thanksgiving Day. Yes, she had much to be thankful for—a full life, a loving husband, and Ernestine Nevils, her new next-door neighbor who had moved in two years before.

During Patti’s cancer treatment, Ernestine was right by her side, an extension of Jesus’ hands and feet providing love, encouragement, and support. One year after her final radiation treatment, Patti was given the opportunity to return the kindness to Ernestine.

A trip to the doctor revealed that Ernestine had lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. Now Patti was the nurturer. She took Ernestine to her first chemotherapy session and explained what to expect. She told Ernestine what to eat, where to have a wig made, and how to deal with depression.

God has not called us to go through life alone. All through the Bible He brought people together for mutual encouragement and support.

David had Jonathan.

Paul had Barnabas.

Naomi had Ruth.

Mary had Elizabeth.

Let’s look at Mary for a moment. Remember the day the angel, Gabriel, made a shocking announcement to Mary? “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35 NIV).

And what were the next words out of Gabriel’s holy mouth? “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:36-37 NIV).

Isn’t it interesting that right after the angel told Mary her news, he told her about Elizabeth’s news? God knew that Mary was going to need a friend…a friend to affirm her, encourage her, and yes, prophesy over her. He also knew that she was going to need to watch Elizabeth’s pregnancy and delivery so she would be prepared for her own.

Oh sister, God knows that we need godly girlfriends to walk alongside us during difficult days and stressful seasons.

The Bible tells us, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NIV). The Greek word for burden used here, barē, means an excessive weight, over burden, trouble, or heaviness. I think of it as an overwhelming burden we feel we just can’t carry alone.

Jesus is our burden bearer, but sometimes He intends to provide that relief by giving us the ability to help one another.

In Galatians 6:5 Paul says, “Every man shall carry his own burden.” So, which is it? This Greek word translated burden in verse 5 is phortion and is more like a pack carried by one person. In other words, we all have a responsibility to carry ordinary burdens, but when it is a barē burden like in verse 2, we need each other.

As I watched Patti and Ernestine make their way down the street that chilly November day, I whispered a prayer of thanksgiving for Girlfriends in God… friends with whom we can be His strong arm when a burden is too heavy to bear alone and His voice when a friend has forgotten the words to the song in her heart.

Dear Lord, I am so grateful that You designed women to live in relationship with one another. Open my eyes to see someone who needs a dose of Your love today and give me the wisdom to know how to be an extension of Your grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Who is one woman in your life who has helped you carry a heavy burden?

Honor her today by clicking on comment below and saying, “I am thankful for ________.

One of the ways we can help carry someone’s burden is by offering encouraging words. A word offered at just the right time may make the difference between someone finishing well or collapsing along the way. To learn more about how to use your words to speak life, check out my book and study guide, The Power of a Woman’s Words, How the Words You Speak Shape the Lives of Others. Also, check out my list of words to speak and to avoid to husbands, children, adult children and friends on the FREE RESOURCES tab of my website.

Need prayer? Click here to post your prayer request and to pray for others.

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Comments 91

  9. Thankful for my sistas Wanda Sandra and Lillian! This journey is so much better with you all! Love you!! Al

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  10. I am thankful for Sally, and very thankful for the Girlfriends in God trio that inspire me to rely on God and His word to survive whatever comes.

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  11. I am so blessed to have Renee and Donna and Patti and Linda in my life. Thankful for all them we have been friends for most of our lives. We have seen each other thur many ups and downs. We know God put of together.

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    1. Trisha

      Thank you for always being by my side! I love you with all my heart❤️ I feel God did put us all together and I wouldn’t trade any of us!🙏❤️

      Donna

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  14. I am so very thankful for Clara….she has went beyond and above with everyone that comes into her life, she loves big and intentional, she truly is the hands and feet of Jesus…she recently lost her son but yet was a light to so many encouraging them to know where to spend eternity…she truly is a blessing in my life.

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  15. I M thankful for Jerry Robinson Johnson that was in my life but didn’t know how to get us both back to God; but still knew how to share and care for. May she Rest in Peace. Amen

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  16. I want to pray for a dear friend struggling with infertility. May the Lord bless she and her husband according to His Sovereign, Divine Will for their lives.

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  18. I am thankful for my Aunt Lola who has seen me in my worst and has unconditional love for me and remained a loving Aunt after confessing to her my deepest secrets. She’s prayed for me and put up with my stubbornness and dark secrets.

    I am also thankful for my best friend Eleanor who stuck with me when I was a paraiah. and remained bestie in my povertyness and shunned life.

    I am thankful for my mentor friend sister in Christ Sabine from Germany who has put up with my being a tyrant and encouraging me and praying for me and counseling me.

    I am thankful for my Pastors wife Sylvia who has nourished me with the word of God and counseled and prayed for me and exercise with me. She has stood by me when others shunned me.

    I am also thankful for my prayer partner and best friend Darlene who loves me unconditionally.

    I am also thankful for my friend Patti who’s always positive and cheers me up with her friendliness.

    I am also thankful for my boss Gardenia whom we pray together before we start the day with our work who treats me like her confidant and friend.

    I am also thankful for my office friend Jane for her wanting to hang around with me like going out for lunch and being friendly with me when everyone at the office seems to pair up and do things together.

    And haven’t forgotten my mother who cries and pray for me when I’ve lost respect in society and encourages me and see’s me as a great person when I have such low self esteem. Now that I am Blessed by God…she’s satisfied at my outcome in life even though I disrespect her. She’s wise and I would go to her for advice. Even though we fight she still considers me as her first born.

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  21. I am thankful for my Aunt Lola who loves me unconditionally and knows my deepest secrets and has put up with my stubbornness and negativity.

    I am thankful for my best friend Eleanor who stood by me when I was a paraiah and in poverty.

    I am thankful for my mentor friend sister in Christ Sabine from Germany who loves me unconditionally.

    I am thankful for the Pastors wife Sylvia who prays for me and counsel me and I exercise with and see’s Jesus in me.

    I am thankful for my my prayer partner and best friend Darlene who loves me unconditionally.

    I am thankful for my my office friend Jane who I go out with for lunch when I see that everyone in the office seems to pair up.

    I am thankful for my boss Gardenia whom I pray with every morning before work and treats me like her friend and confidant.

    I am thankful for my friend Patti who is friendly to me and so positive and energetic.

    I am thankful for my mom who remains loyal to me when we fight and prays and cries for me when I became an invalid and lost respect in society…she sees me as a person with potential when I feel like a failure..she encourages me when anyone could have gave up on me and gives me wise advice. And she loves me unconditionally.

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    1. I am thankful for my friend Connie Shield! Thankful for Linda Russel. Thankful for Bethany Bollyer. Thankful for Kathleen, for Lina and more Thank you Lord for putting them into my life.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

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  24. My sister Kim has been there for me my entire life. She is 3 years older than me and has always shown me love. She has been a listening ear and a voice of truth and wisdom. I am so thankful God blessed me with such a wonderful woman to be my sister my friend.

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  32. I am thankful for Nancy Mols Mrotz whose quiet steady friendship took me through some of the hardest times of my life.

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  34. I’m thankful for you Sharon ❤️ Sharing your story, through that I’m able to let go of my shame! It wasn’t mine to bear. My mother’s unforgiveness caused me unimaginable hurt. I looked like the family member who had hurt her. Many times I was told my name should have been trouble because that’s all I ever was. I should have never been born… I felt how could God love me if I was so bad my mother didn’t. Through your story I began healing 🥰 I’ve got a way to go but that God I’m not where I was!! Thank you and God bless

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  35. I am thankful for the ladies who are always here for me. They have shared my joys, my sorrows and my trials as I have shared theirs too. We have a bond that I am so thankful for. I know that I can call upon these ladies at any time, night or day, and say “I need you” and they would be right by my side. I am thankful that God gave us girlfriends who can help carry our burdens and yet can help you laugh when you need it the most.

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  37. I don’t really have a girl friend to share my life with not since my mom passed. Would you all please pray for me that God would send a special friend into my life. Thank you

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  40. I am so very grateful for my “besties” of 50+ years. Rosanne and Jan have held my hand and heart through the ups and downs of life and have allowed me to do the same for them. Thank you, God, for these sisters of my heart!

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  41. I am thankful for all my friends but there are two who are steadfastly there, really three. My friend Gina is my Godly Girlfriend. She always “shows up” even before I know I need her with her unfailing faith and encouragement and ability to sense what I need and when I need it. She is loving and giving and always thinking of me. I can talk to her about anything. My Best Friend for years, Lisa has always been by my side in every aspect of friendship even when she moved so many states away from me, she is still always near and knows everything about me inside and out. She is always my voice of reason and my comfort and my joy. My friend Tanya, is also always there for me if I need her. Ours is a different relationship in that she doesn’t believe in God and at some point was secure enough to let me know that. I feel sad about this but I do what I can to bring His love to her. She is a good loving person and takes care of whomever needs her to. I have always known that these three women were God sent. We have seasons with people that come and go for God’s reasons for them being here when they are here for us and then there are those you just know they are meant for life. I can call on any one of them and they are there. And he sends them to me when I need them without me asking. Sometimes when I don’t think to ask. I am grateful to you Lord for sending these people to help me navigate this life and remain faithful in you.

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  42. I am thankful for the relationship between women. I thank God for Sharon Jaynes and her life giving words to us all, a woman like us who has experienced “life” …who takes her talents and uses them in this way to help us all. She is blessed and we are blessed. God has been so very good to me. All of my life I have been blessed with having girlfriends to share my ” ups and down’s” . If you don’t have that special person to share your deepest love, hurts, disappointments, joys, I pray that God will give you that person. But never forget that Jesus is with you: forgiving you, loving you, sustaining you, and giving you eternal love , friendship, and salvation. A quote I once heard is ” to have a friend…you have to be a friend.”

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  45. I am thankful for Jeanne, Misty, Ann, Heather, and Marsha. My soul sisters, my tribe, my sisters in Christ, who are always there for me with encouraging words, a shoulder to cry on, when I am in need of prayers, and to love me unconditionally. They mean the world to me.

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  47. I am so very thankful & greatful to God for encouraging me to reach out to a woman named Lauri Walters. She is a beautiful reflection of Jesus for her caring, giving & loving of others. She is my friend and sister for life and sends me special texts at just the right day/moment. Please join me in praying for her & her family 🙂

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  50. I am so grateful for Marie Billings , a dear Christian friend since junior high, Gwen Light who shines her light and who is always there for me, My stepmother- in-law, Joyce McDonald who is like a Mom and a friend at the same time. I’m so blessed to have these ladies in my life.

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  56. I did but don’t know how to get it back. I just needed someone to poor my heart out to. You have been a life line since I bought some books at a WMs conference in hershey PA. Believe it or not the title Girlfriends of this article was the same as the conference. At 71 I am saved and if I don’t see you on earth I’ll see you in heaven. In the mean time I’ll take some courses on cell phones so when something like that happens I can retrieve it. Thanks for all you do to make the kingdom of heaven fuller and to keep us on earth on the path to Jesus for he is the only way, truth and life to get to see God face to face in eternity.

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  59. I am thankful for several friends from my Church, but especially Carol and Judy….both are wonderful encouragers.

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  60. I am thankful for my sisters Tena and Pam, and my new friend, Karen! I rarely have friends outside my sisters, Karen has been a blessing since I met her a few months ago! Thank you God for you perfect choices you make for us at times we need them!!💟

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  61. I am so thankful for my soul sisters Mae & Mandy! We have done so much life together. I can’t imagine going through this life without the two of you by my side. Love you both dearly and thank God for bringing us all together through Bible Study.

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  71. I am thankful for so many women who have stood beside me in my life as I faced stormy seasons, but right now I am thankful for two special women that God placed in my life for this season: Laura and Stephanie.

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  72. I am thankful for my wonderful supervisor, who due to a re-organization, no longer has a job September 1, and for my team, who has no idea who our supervisor will be on September 1.

    Please pray that those people at the top are actually making good, if not Godly, decisions!

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  73. I am thankful for my sisters Marion and Abigail and My girl friends-Joan, Pam, Patrina for always being available. I am also thankful for the prayer Warriors on the prayer wall for their continuous support of prayers to God on my behalf and my family. I am truly thankful!

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  74. I am thankful for Gloria, Valerie, Geraldine, Annie, and Shirley. Their unconditional love, support acceptance and guidance has been immeasurable to me for 15+ years. I am sure they know if they need me, I am only a phone call away. Yes, Thank God for Girlfriends!

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  75. I am so thankful for & to Dianne, Dena, Marion & Yvonne. Through thick & thin, these girlfriends have been there. God knew we would need each other and when. Thank you.

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  77. I am thankful for my daughter, Leah, caring for me through the ups and downs of chemo and radiation. God gave me a treasure when He gave me her. I am so thankful. I love her so much!

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  78. I’m thankful for Laurie. We have shared so much life together. Tho miles now separate us, the bond remains. Every visit is just as if it were yesterday- no matter the actual time.
    Blessed to call her friend.

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  80. So thankful for my amazing GiG’s – they know who they are. We have shared so many burdens over the years and I often think we would be in an awful place if not for their prayers.

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  82. I am thankful for all of my gal pals who have been there for me throughout my life. I love you and am thankful for you!

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  83. I am thankful for my Mom & Granny Violet for being my childhood & adulthood role models. My “golden girls”, Corie, Connie, & Liz. My daughters Destiney & Jaina and granddaughters Kambrey & Brooklyn. My awesome sis in-laws Angie, Judy, Liz, Corie, & Amaris. Also, my dear girlfriends: Victoria, Rinnie, Sarah, Kim, Kelli, & Sheyanne. Coworkers Liz P, Sandy, Melanie, Jean, Deann, Patti, Staci, Angela, & Lisa. And my church ladies!! I am so blessed to have such wonderful, encouraging, loving girlfriends!!

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  84. I am thankful for my friend, Didi, who always knows just what I need and when. I am thankful for Christine and Ann, my voices of reason. Finally, I am thankful for Dawn, my beacon of light in all things work related and for putting my life into perspective.

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  87. I’m so thankful for my best friend Renee. She’s an amazing sweet friend. God knew I needed her in my life and our husbands are also best friends.
    Sweet life journey!

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