Moms and the Gift of Friendship

Moms are almost always surrounded by people. In fact, if you have little ones, you probably don’t even get to go to the bathroom alone. Yet talk to many moms- especially moms with young children – and most will admit they suffer from loneliness.

Our world is full of acquaintances we have convinced ourselves are friends. They are there to chat with while waiting for your kids or online exchanging stories of the fun things their kids are doing. Yet what most of us moms are longing for are those friends who know all of our quirks, but love us anyway. Who love us enough to hold us accountable when we aren’t being who God wants us to be. Who will walk with us down this motherhood path.

I was interested when offered a chance to review The Gift of Friendship: Stories That Celebrate the Beauty of Shared Moments by Dawn Camp. The book contains very short stories written by a variety of moms about friendship. Some I knew were somewhat “famous” in Christian circles and others I don’t know at all. Yet each of their stories rang true.

This book was great in that it sort of sneaks up on you. As you begin reading the various stories, you begin thinking you are reading one of those Chicken Soup books. There aren’t really many direct “how to” lists or mini-sermons within the pages of this book, just warm stories of friendship.

Yet after a few pages, I believe many readers will begin to realize whether or not they have a friendship deficit in their lives. Those who do – which as overly busy moms, would be almost everyone – may find a yearning for the types of friendships described begins. And that is the true brilliance of this book. Ever so subtly, the authors put the responsibility on the reader to do something to actively cultivate those relationships. If the reader pays close attention, the keys to finding and nurturing those special, Christian friendships are in each story.

If you have plenty of really close Christian friends and mentors, this book will just be a nice relaxing read. If you are lonely, it may cause you to shed a few tears at first, but I believe it may give you the push you need to develop the friendships you want so badly.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.