When we think about “relationships,” our minds often jump to cupid-covered stories of dating, marriage and romance. However, some of the most important (and most plentiful!) relationships we’ll have throughout our lives are the relationships we build with friends.
Covenant friendships are different: they run deeper than chatting around the coffee maker at work or casual conversations about reality TV. They are inspired by God’s relationship with us, and they happen when two friends — fueled by their relationships with Jesus — commit to supporting each other on a spiritual level.
Gracie Gordon and Jessi Green met three years ago at a Liberty Sisterhood event. Their covenant friendship started with a humble baked good.
“Jessi was eating these blondies I had made, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh they’re so good!’” Gracie recalls. “I told her thanks, and we pretty much instantly became best friends.”
Food continues to be a very important part of Gracie and Jessi’s relationship- brunch is one of their favorite things to do together.
But it’s the discussions that happen between pancakes that make their relationship so unique.
“One of the things that makes our friendship so strong is that whatever happens, whether good or bad, we have to talk about every single aspect of the situation,” Gracie says. “We call it ‘verbally processing.’”
Gracie explains that her and Jessi’s individual relationships with God are responsible for making their friendship different than others.
“Jessi was the first person outside my family I knew that I could truly trust,” Gracie says. “And that trust came out of our mutual relationship with God. We knew this friendship was based on something bigger than what we each got out of it, so there was never any competition between the two of us like in some girl friendships.”
Gracie and Jessi are there for each other on a spiritual level, too: they text each other prayer requests almost daily.
“Just because we love each other doesn’t mean we won’t call each other out on things, either,” Gracie says. “And when we argue, it’s because we want the best for the other.”
In fact, Gracie calls their friendship one of her “greatest evangelical tools:” when she and Jessi are out on the town, people almost always ask how they met.
We’re reminded that our friendship is part of a bigger kingdom purpose.
“When we tell them we met at church, it opens up a whole conversation,” she explains. “And every time that happens, it brings us closer together because we’re reminded that this is part of a bigger kingdom purpose.”
Gracie says her rock-solid friendship with Jessi is a result of getting plugged in to the Liberty community during her early days in New York. If you’re looking to develop more covenant friendships, Gracie recommends finding a community — especially in church — where you’ll be surrounded by positive people whose goal is to encourage you and help you grow.
Join the Liberty community for our Relationships Seminar next Saturday to learn more about developing covenant friendships and to hear more real-life stories from those in our church family!
by Suzy Strutner
