You Need Three
You Need Three
This week has been filled with emotions.
The kind of week where you realize there is so much happening beneath the surface, so many thoughts you are carrying, and so many little moments that remind you just how much you need people.
This is only a small portion of the bigger, hectic story that has been this week.
But through all of it, I kept coming back to one thought:
You need three.
You are called to be in community.
You are called to be witnesses.
You are called to share life with people.
Because, as Scripture says, “It is not good for man to be alone.”
We were never created to walk through life completely by ourselves.
You need people for you.
You need people with you.
And sometimes, you even need people against you—people who love you enough to tell you the truth when you don't want to hear it.
You need people who bring value back to the word friend.
Not just someone you text when you're bored.
Not just someone who knows your favorite coffee order.
Not just someone who likes your posts.
You need deeper friendships. Deeper relationships. People who know your heart and are willing to walk through the messy parts of your journey with you.
You are not “too cool for this.”
You are not too independent to need people.
And your life will lose something beautiful if you spend it hiding your true vulnerability because you're afraid of being known.
Jesus Himself modeled this.
He never intended to live life alone. Throughout the New Testament, we see Him surrounded by people. He had the disciples. He had people He taught, people He ate with, people He served with. And even among the twelve, He had a smaller inner circle—Peter, James, and John.
Jesus had people.
So, who are your people?
For me, there are three.
1. My Best Friend
My best friend is one of those people I know I can count on.
She carries me.
She guides me.
She convicts me.
She loves me enough to tell me when I'm being ridiculous and enough to stay when I am.
In my deepest stress, I can count on her.
In my darkest hours, when her phone buzzes, she picks up.
And sometimes I call her with the most serious things I've ever carried, and other times I'm calling with the most ridiculous questions imaginable.
Questions about heaven.
Girl things.
Relationships.
Life.
Things that probably make absolutely no sense to anyone else.
And somehow, she listens to all of it.
She has caught me in some of my deepest thoughts. She has seen parts of me that I don't show everyone. She has stopped me from making decisions I would have regretted later. She has sat on countless calls with me after I did something stupid, talked me through my nonsense, and occasionally had to knock some sense into me.
She has been there.
And she has continued to be there.
Even when distance means she can't physically be by my side, she is still there for me.
That kind of friendship is a gift.
We carry each other's burdens. We remind each other to keep going. We pray for each other. We lift each other up when one of us doesn't have the strength to stand on our own.
She was a prayer answered.
And even if life changes someday, even if seasons change and things don't always look the way they do now, I will forever be thankful that God allowed our paths to cross.
Some friendships are gifts you don't realize you prayed for until you receive them.
She is one of mine. 🤍
2. My Leaders and Mentors
My second group of three is my leaders.
My mentors.
The people who have watched me grow from an awkward twelve-year-old girl into the woman I am becoming.
They have seen so many versions of me.
They have sat with me for hours at a time—through tears, questions, problems, confusion, and all of my ridiculous questions about relationships.
They have answered their phones late at night when I didn't know who else to call.
They have seen the desperation behind a closed door.
They have seen my weaknesses.
They have seen my strongest moments.
They have prayed over me.
They have guided me.
They have corrected me.
And sometimes, they have simply sat there with me.
There is something powerful about having people in your life who aren't just friends but mentors—people who have already walked through some of the places you are trying to navigate.
People who can say, “I've been there.”
People who can see something in you that you can't see in yourself yet.
People who can remind you of who God created you to be when you temporarily forget.
They have been there in moments when I couldn't find an adult to turn to.
They have been mentors for my faith.
They have helped me learn what it means to follow Jesus beyond Sunday mornings and into everyday life.
And I am forever thankful for them.
Even as they begin building their own families, entering new seasons, and living lives of their own, I know I will always be one of their girls.
One of their daughters.
One of their nieces. 😉
Because some people become family without ever sharing your last name.
They become part of your story simply because they chose to show up.
3. My Mama
And then there is my third.
But really, she was my first.
My mama.
The woman who has seen me from the very beginning.
She has watched me grow up.
She has seen me cry.
She has seen me pick myself back up.
She has encouraged me to keep going when I wanted to quit.
She has reminded me to take one step at a time.
She has pushed me to go out there and live.
She has dealt with my attitudes.
She has walked through the difficult parts of my teenage years with me.
She has watched me change, grow, dream, struggle, and become.
She has watched me dream about my Prince Charming.
And she has been there to rescue me from the heartbreak when the clock struck midnight.
She has seen the sleepless nights.
The tears.
The excitement.
The disappointment.
The big dreams.
The moments when I thought I had everything figured out.
And the moments when I absolutely did not.
She has welcomed me into her arms on the nights when I couldn't sleep and reminded me that I didn't have to figure everything out at once.
She sees me dreaming big now.
She sees me getting ready to step into the world.
She sees me imagining my future, thinking about moving out, building a life, and becoming my own person.
But somehow, no matter how old I get, she still sees the little girl I used to be.
And I think she always will.
Because that's the beautiful thing about a mother's love.
She can see the woman you are becoming while still remembering the little girl you were.
And maybe that's what all three of these relationships have taught me.
You need people.
You need the friend who knows your heart.
You need the mentor who knows your potential.
And you need the person who remembers where you came from.
You need people who will celebrate you.
People who will correct you.
People who will pray for you.
People who will sit in silence with you.
People who will pick up the phone at midnight.
People who will tell you when you're wrong.
People who will carry you when you can't carry yourself.
People who will remind you that you are loved when your emotions tell you otherwise.
Community isn't always convenient.
Friendship isn't always easy.
Relationships require vulnerability, forgiveness, patience, and showing up even when you don't feel like it.
But I don't think God ever intended us to do life alone.
So find your three.
Find the people who are for you, with you, and willing to challenge you.
Let yourself be known.
Let yourself be loved.
Let people walk with you.
And when you find those people, don't take them for granted.
Because sometimes the greatest gifts God gives us aren't things.
They're people.
And I am incredibly thankful for mine. 🤍