By Jeanne Rodgers
In a previous article I gave you Five Ways to Make a New Friend. Now that you have that new friend, how do you connect with them?
It’s the holiday season with all the seasonal smells and flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, fresh-cut Christmas trees, holiday cookies of all shapes, sizes and colors, and one of my favorites, sour cream coffee cake laced with walnuts, apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. What a WONDERFUL time to do things together with family and friends and to CONNECT with your NEW FRIEND! Here are some pointers to help make it a positive experience for both of you:
GIVE YOUR NEW FRIEND SPACE
Not everyone likes to connect every day or has that kind of time. Don’t smother your new friend. Also be careful not to become jealous of other friendships they may already have in their life.
ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES
In the early stages of your conversations, communicate graciously but clearly about time frames in which you handle your phone, such as when you will receive and answer messages. If you don’t do this, you could get calls or text messages at all hours of the night because your new friend “so enjoys” your friendship. This is good training for your new friend as well, especially if they don’t already have boundaries.
RESPECT THEIR TIME
Decide ahead of time how much time you’re going to spend on the phone or going out to lunch or sharing other activities. Your new friend could have a spouse and family. And don’t get so caught up in your new friendship that you forget your family.
BE CAREFUL HOW MUCH YOU SHARE
Your new friend doesn’t need for you to air all your dirty laundry. Begin building your relationship on positives. In your conversations, regularly express the many things that you are thankful for. Negative and challenging sharing will creep into your conversations soon enough.
SHOW INTEGRITY IN YOUR NEW FRIENDSHIP
The definition of integrity is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” This quality is of the utmost importance when connecting with your new friend. Be honest and sincere. People can recognize a phony a mile away.
Move forward and enjoy connecting with your new friend. Above all else, allow God to speak to you about building your new friendship. Friends are a true gift from God.
About the Author
Jeanne Rodgers, and her husband, Dwight, have three gifted and talented adult sons, an amazing daughter-in-love, and two beautiful and comical grandchildren. Retired from lead pastoring and residing in Florida, the Rodgers have moved on to one of their next assignments, Encouraging Journey Ministries. You may learn more at Encouragingjm.com .
You can find Jeanne’s previous article, Five Ways to Make a New Friend, at: Read article
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