Who Needs a Friend?

by Brenda Dedmon

Ibelieve having friends and being a friend is an important part of our lives. I have friends today that I made when I was a child, and we still enjoy doing things together. It is important to remember the friends we have made, but it is also important that we continue to make new friends.

We find examples in the Bible of people who were friends. We find in 1 Samuel 1:18 the friendship of David and Jonathan. David said his friendship with Jonathan was as if he was his brother. In the New Testament, in John 15:15, Jesus said to His followers, “You are my friends.” In the book of Acts, we read about Paul, Silas, and Timothy as friends. Paul was also friends with Lydia and the women she had church with by the river. When Paul wrote letters to the churches in the New Testament, he always called them his friends.

We also read in the Bible reminders of things we need to do to be a friend and what we should do for our friends: “Be kind and compassionate” (Eph. 4:32 ) and “Pray one for another” (James 5:16). What do you think you have to do to make friends and be a friend? It may be hard to make new friends when you move to a new neighborhood or move to a new school. So where do you start?

You will discover on this page four suggestions that could help you with making friends. Ask your parents to help you develop a plan using these ideas.

• Learning how to meet friends by asking questions. Start with asking simple questions such as their name, their favorite food, game, movie, and how old they are. Explore other ideas you might want to ask.

• Make a storyboard of action steps. Using the questions you decided on, make a storyboard of “how” to put those steps into action. You may want to explore what to do if someone answers no to answering questions.

• Play a game of “What If?” Think about the best or worse thing that could happen if you are fearful about making new friends. For example, “What if you ask others to play and they do not respond like you think they would? Sometimes talking about what could happen and sharing ideas of how to deal with it in a variety of ways could give you confidence in making friends. You will also realize that it is not a big deal if things do not go perfectly every time.

• Read books. Using books is a fantastic way to help you realize how to make friends, be a friend, and that making friends is a natural part of life. The following books are part of my favorite books about making friends: How to be a Friend by Laurie Krasay Brown, Will you be friends with Me? by Kathleen Long Bostrom, and The Kids Book of Friends by Catherine Stephens.

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