Welcome back! I am so glad you are joining me on the 4th edition of the Genuinely Good Blog. Today I am introducing you to Jen…
I first met Jen when we were in nursing school together. Multiple times I would hear Jen share a story and refer to “one of her best friends.” I started thinking, “Gosh…either this girl has a best friend with a CRAZY life, or she has 5 million best friends.” Turns out it’s the second one. Jen is a genuine friend to every person she meets. It is her superpower. Here are her thoughts on friendships and relationships…
1. Show Up
“I want to be the one people can count on. I want to be the one that’s there when things are hard, when things are wonderful, or when they need help. I want to be the one they can call or drop their kids off to in an emergency and the one they can call when they have a wonderful thing happen to them and to not feel like they’re bragging. I want to celebrate with them and I want to mourn with them.
My mom always said growing up, ‘I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and as such, my job is to love those around me.’”
2. There’s Always Room For More
In talking with Jen about ways she has found to include others she said:
“It takes conscious effort. I try and pray to know who needs me that day and who needs to be thought of. Sometimes that means inviting someone to join another group of friends I have so they can meet that group too. That way other friendships develop as well. I can’t always be and I won’t always be the one person that everyone clicks with – but I try and be prayerful about who to invite so that they can meet the right people.”
3. Host
I asked Jen if she had advice for people that wanted to start building a community of friendships and she said,
“Go out on a limb and invite people over. Start somewhere. Even if you don’t know them well, even if it feels uncomfortable, even if they don’t know each other – host a dinner or a game night. Give people the chance to connect and I guarantee you will find value in many relationships that way.”
To finish I wanted to share my favorite thing Jen said during our conversation:
“Relationships are what I value most in this world.” After talking with Jen I decided to be brave and host a game night (it went great in case you’re curious!). Is there anything that Jen said that stood out to you? Drop a comment below…I’d love to know!
To Jen: Thank you for being an amazing example of how to be a friend and love those around you. Thank you for being Genuinely Good.