Friendship (A New Bible Study from Kathy Collard Miller)
Kathy Collard Miller
At the Heart of Friendship
Hi friends. I interviewed my good friend Kathy Collard Miller for this first post for the new year. I thought it might spark you to consider reading what she found in the Bible about friendship and how her discoveries can inspire us to make the new year one of outreach: making new friends and rekindling our relationships with long-time friends.
Karen: Kathy, what prompted you to write a bible study on the topic of friendship?
Kathy: The answer goes all the way back to the 1990’s when I was writing a women’s Bible study series. It ended up being 12 different studies on a variety of topics and one of them was friendship. I recognized that friendships are very important to us women and there is a lot of information about it in the Bible, most likely more than we may have recognized.
Karen: What is your basic message about friendship?
Kathy: God cares about our friendships. They are His gifts to us. From the very beginning God gave Adam the “friendship” of his wife and said it wasn’t good for him to be alone. God both blesses us with friends and He also causes growth in our lives through the challenges of friends.
Karen: Can you give us one example from the Bible that relates to your theme of friendship and how readers can apply it in their lives?
Kathy: My study covers 10 topics–marriage, God’s plan, children, envy, competition, neediness, conflict, personalities, mentoring, and our friendship with Jesus. One of the examples I refer to amongst many, is the friendship between Naomi and Ruth in the book of Ruth. Ruth inspires us with her unconditional and patient love for her mother-in-law, something that is often difficult in all of our lives. Ruth doesn’t take Naomi’s distressed attitudes personally by not taking responsibility for Naomi’s choices. Looking at that friendship helps us realize every person makes their own choices and we can’t force them to act or believe anything else. What peace that brings and also the ability to love the way Ruth did.
Karen: Where can interested readers purchase your bible study?
Karen: Thanks, Kathy. I hope your new book will inspire and encourage people to make 2019 one of surprising new friendships and most of all a deeper friendship with Jesus.
To enter your name to win a FREE copy of Kathy’s bible study, please leave a comment about friendship. I will collect the names when I return from a trip on January 13, mix them up, and then pick the winner and let that person know.
Find out more about Kathy Collard Miller here:
his reminded me of the song we used to sing in Girl Scouts: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold. I love connecting with old friends here on Facebook, but nothing compares with doing it face to face in real life.
I very much agree, Janet, and I’m happy to count you as one of my faithful friends–silver and gold.
I have always thought how difficult it would be to not have friends. I thank God each day for all my friends and I treasure each one of them😀😀
What a lovely comment, Mary. How fortunate your friends are to have you.
I will always cherish the friends I have left in San Diego. I am now making new friends here in Visalia in
all areas of my new life. I had missed a few Sundays at church and bible study. Yesterday I was at bible study and church and today I had lunch with some of the ladies from Thursday bible study. Oh my what a welcome fuss they made over me. I truly felt loved and appreciated. Yes, friendships are a gift from God. The old ones cherished and the ones most welcome.
What a wonderful bible study..
The book of Ruth.
Thanks Karen
Thank you, Joan. I appreciated reading your story about your new friends in Visalia. Like you, I too, had to make new friends in Santa Cruz County when I moved here twelve years ago, but I’ve managed to hold on to a few best friends from San Diego too.
What a wonderful interview! Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
What would we do without friends? My friend I met when I was three years old remained in constant touch with one another – the reason was her sister married one of my brothers when we were eleven so we were in constant touch and spent every new years eve together all through high school. After we both married, lived in different states, and after I moved to Florida she and her husband spent a week with my ‘new’ husband and me every year, they helped me move after my husband’s death to a condo, etc., etc. She died in Feb. 2018 but we had remained constant friends for 87 years! I have one other “constant” and we have been friends for 70 years! We feel so blessed. I have cherished all of my wonderful friends from the longest known ones to the one I just met about a month ago and we have already bonded through the love of God and our church family. Gold and Silver refer to all of them but all of them are priceless and have a special place in our hearts. Some really wonderful friends come into our lives and stay for a little while but they too are priceless! I like the old hymn: “What a friend we have in Jesus”. He is the best one yet!
Have a wonderful Trip! Love and blessings, Margaret
Thank you, Margaret. You always have such wonderful personal stories to share.
Thanks Karen, for this interview about the value of friendship. I too treasure my friends, both old and new. And in our stage of life, it’s probably we will have some of our girlfriends longer than we have our husbands beside us. So grateful for the long-term friends who have walked with me through change, loss of my first husband, and readjusting to a new life and then, new marriage. You and Charles are part of that second group and I cherish your friendship.
Hi Carol. Many thanks for your warm words. You and Don are among my treasured friends and you were at the top of the list for Charles too. Just celebrated our oldest grandchild’s wedding this weekend in snowy Cincinnati, Ohio. A lovely and poignant milestone.