Written by Jo Clark.
What a gem of a book! Whether you have lots of friends, a few friends or struggle with friendships this book has some helpful thoughts and insights for you.
In the business of everyday life, this book is short (I read it in just over an hour) but it is packed with ideas on friendship and generates reflections.
This book is all about friendships and starts by making it very clear:
No matter who we are, whether we’re married or not, whether we have lots of people in our lives or a few, we all need friends.
It was refreshing to read how the Bible promotes friendships as important and key relationships. Jesus himself had his close friends! We all need those people to walk through life side by side, encouraging and supporting each other.
The book is accessible, broken down into short bite size sections. If you have five minutes to spare or a longer stretch of time I would recommend picking this book up.
I really liked that at the end of each main chapter there are some questions to aid reflection or guide discussions. These provided me with a great opportunity to think about what I had just read, reflecting on my own relationships and where I can grow in this area.
I found it refreshing to read a book promoting physical friendships. Even though we can ‘friend’ people on-line — something that is easy to do and a battle I have constantly with the young people I work with — it is only by investing in spending time with people in-person that we can develop true friendships.
Roberts also points out how friendships take time and work, which sometimes takes intentionality from us. Making time for each other is the only way we will develop true, close friends.
He also discusses the importance of friends being there for each other in the good and bad, and the best friends are those where there is a spiritual aspect to the relationship. It has challenged me to ensure God is a part of my friendships, checking in with each other spiritually as well as asking about the day-to-day aspects of life.
Roberts also brings ideas for those of us who may feel we don’t have many friends, bringing gentle challenges to help develop friendships.
Being someone who loves and needs people in my life, reading this book has made me thankful for the true friends I have around me, the people I know I can call on and who walk through the good and tough parts of life with me.
I have gained a new found love for my friends and thank God for putting them in my life.
Whether you find friendships easy or hard, have five minutes to give to a book or more spare time grab, a copy of this book!
Have a read – there really is something for everyone in here.
You can find copies of True Friendship by Vaughan Roberts at our bookshop for £4.99.
Acorn and the Vine
109 Palmerston Road
Southsea, Portsmouth
PO5 3PS
