“I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”
When Peter and John walked up to the Gate Beautiful they heard and saw a lame man from birth begging for money. They didn’t give him what he wanted but what he needed. Today’s woman may think she needs a better job, more money, a bigger house, or whatever but there is one thing that will do more for her than she can imagine – friendship.
According to a UCLA “Study on Friendship Among Women” by Gale Berkowitz in 2002, there are many benefits for women in their friendships with other women. There is something special about friendships among women. Berkowitz says they “shape who we are and who we are yet to become, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage and help us remember who we really are.”
Quite by accident the researchers discovered that women respond differently than men to stress. Rather than a “fight or flight” response the brain responds by producing more oxytocin which produces a “tend and befriend” response which causes her to want to tend to her children or gather with other women. When she does gather with other women more oxytocin is produced which helps to reduce stress and produces a calming affect.
Friendship with women also extends ones life expectancy. Social ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol. Friends actually help us live longer. If that’s not an excuse to stop obsessing over things and go relax with friends then let me give you a few more reasons.
The famed Nurses’ Health Study from Harvard medical School found that women were less likely to develop physical impairments as they aged and were more joyful when they had more women friends. Friendships bring comfort in the midst of our losses and help us to process grief better. Women who have a close friend or confidante are more likely to survive the death of a spouse without any new physical problems or a loss of vitality.
Yet, our first response when we’re too busy is to withdraw from our friends. However, this is the worst thing we could do because women friends are a source of strength to one another because they nurture one another naturally. Women do a special kind of talking with other women that brings healing.
Friendship is free…
• Friendship is joy producing
• Friendship is stress reducing
• Friendship is life extending
• Friendship increases the quality of life
• Friendship is comforting in the losses of life
• Friendship is a source of strength
• Friendship is nurturing
• Friendship is healing
• Friendship is golden
Give the gift that’s golden – friendship.
