Being a woman is filled with contradictions and confusion at times. Women are often pitted against women, for what reasons I’m still not quite sure. If you have a daughter, you are probably even more acutely aware of the benefits and trials of female friendships.
Shouldn’t Christian women be different though? Shouldn’t we consistently support each other, nurture each other and help each other grow spiritually and reach our godly potential? I dare say, God would answer “yes” to that question. Unfortunately, our friendships with Christian women can be just as troublesome as those with our more secular friends. In great part, it’s because we live in a fallen world and Christians still sin.
I was interested in the idea of reviewing the book, Girls’ Club: Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World by Sarah, Sally and Joy Clarkson. The Clarkson authors are a mother and her two daughters. Each is in a different stage and decade of life. As such, each has a perspective of female friendships in the various seasons of a woman’s life.
The authors are Christian, so their book is from a Christian perspective. They take turns sharing about their personal experiences and the lessons they have learned from their various friendships over the years.
I love that they also view each other as friends and the mother talks about what she did to nurture that type of relationship with her now adult daughters. It’s also interesting that two of the daughters appear to have lived and perhaps still live in Europe, while the mother is in Colorado.
The book covers quite a few topics, including how to love each other’s woundedness, how to spend time with your friends, how to be a faithful friend and more. Sprinkled throughout their personal stories, there is plenty of advice, lots of tips and more than enough encouragement.
I love that the authors point out how we all somehow want to be asked to be friends with other women, but that very few of us offer to befriend others. They really encourage women to step out of their comfort zone and seek out friendships, rather than waiting in loneliness for them to come looking for you.
There’s nothing particularly earth shattering in this book, and that’s okay. It’s simply a good reminder of the friendships we really need in our lives and to take the time and effort to find and cultivate them. We could probably all use that reminder from time to time.
This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.