When I arrived in London it was quite difficult to make new friends. You can easily just enjoy the people you know and that you are comfortable with, without challenging yourself to move out of your comfort zone for God to use you when you live in a place you've known all your life....hmm....thus the word "home country!". But if you move to a foreign country, you have no choice. God connects you with people that will shape you, people that you wouldn't necessary choose for yourself, people that He chose for you to invest in.

I was blessed to live with a few "new girlfriends" during my engagement to George the first few months when I arrived in London. We were famous for our amazing food, wooden floor house and exciting company and drew people to our Openview House like a moth is drawn to light. People filled our lounge every day of the week to enjoy the amazing fellowship we had in the Spirit. And some invited others who in return invited more people. It became the safe haven for many. I had a similar experience during my High School years when we had a connect group that became my spiritual family. We are still a very close-knitted, Holy Spirit Anointed group of friends living out our covenant to one another to be there for each other - till death and beyond. The sweet love between us drew others like the Royal Wedding drew the Britons. There were prayer sessions, share sessions and pizza! Don't forget the pizza!

These experiences are a Gift from God that I value dearly - but it also causes a dilemma.

When I go to parties or visit with friends I always feel this surge of frustration coming over me when I don't experience the connection and joy I know exist. And I always come back to the same nagging question in my heart....

What is the fabric of friendship that holds everything together?

So, after a lot of prayer and thinking, I am more convinced than ever that the fabric that holds friendships together is the words and actions that flow from a pure heart.

The friends I am the closest with are the friends that verbalise the way they feel about me. Their words are full of grace, acceptance and compassion. Some compliment me on the way I look, other express their excitement to see me while others say how much they miss me. These are the friends that want to esteem me higher than themselves, without comparison sucking the life out of the relationship. They celebrate and honour me as a person. They compliment me without any hidden agendas or jealousy lurking up in their hearts. They buy gifts, offer to teach me "how to sow on a button", schedule a coffee date and invest in me as a person.

These valuable friends are also interested in my relationship with God - they share their personal journeys and open up their hearts for me to know them intimately, without walls of insecurities blocking the way to get to know them. They are open and vulnerable and not scared to share themselves because they no longer live, but Christ lives within them.

I admire those who will go the extra mile to do something special for a friend. I want to be a friend like that - someone who sows grace lavishly. My passion is to slowly learn to give without expecting something back, to give because I value people, I love people and I want to be a friend to many.

I wanted to share this because I believe that the world is in need of good friends that will lighten up someone's day with their sacrificial love.

Proverbs 22:11

May God help us to be good friends to others..... and maybe soon you will be the one sending an awesome Facebook message or hide a gift underneath's someone's car....