My dad always owned his own business. When I was a child he was a farrier, traveling from farm to farm—putting in long days, especially in the summer, coming home smelling like animals and outside and barnyards. I loved it.

When I was in middle school we moved, horseshoeing had become just too physically taxing for my dad to continue doing and so he needed a change. We settled across our state in a small town where he began a financial services business. And although I could say many things about that time of my life, one thing I remember distinctly was how lean the next few years were financially. Not that my parents complained or worried to us kids, but we could sense that things we’d done before wouldn’t be happening those first couple of years, that we needed to cut back on spending. Still, we found we were okay.

And that is why this season, this year, has felt somewhat familiar to me. My husband owns his own business and it has afforded us many benefits for which I am so grateful these past seven years. But this year has been slightly different. Through no fault of his own, some client bases have changed, contacts moved to different companies—leaving us in a season of leanness, at least financially.

Jasmine's first day with us.

Jasmine's adoption day!

Six years have come and gone since that day, and I remember the emotion of it all as if it were still happening. We were so excited and naïve. We saw this child as nothing but a blessing. Pure light in our lives. A gift. And every day as I look at my daughter’s shining face I’m reminded that God can take my mistakes, my missteps, and by his grace, make something lovely again.

Being a young mom includes many joys, but can also come with some challenges. This is especially true when you’re trying to navigate adult friendships while also caring for little people in your home. But just because life may be different doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prioritize our relationships. It’s still valuable for each of us to have friends. Here are five easy ways to intentionally make friends as a new mom:

• Join a local moms or MOPS group. After my son was born, my sister-in-law invited me to a local moms group that had joined. Even though it was a struggle to get there with a toddler and newborn in tow, I decided to make the effort. I’m so glad that I did. I didn’t realize how lonely I had been until I was surrounded by other women. I found other moms who could relate to all that I was experiencing as a new mom and it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Joining that moms group was one of the best decisions I made in those early years and it sparked friendships with women that I still have today.

• Start conversations with other moms at the park or a play center. Meeting other moms at the park or play centers is another way to potentially meet new friends, especially if they happen to live in your neighborhood and frequent the same places you do.

• Look for other moms to befriend at your child’s activity or class. When my daughter was two, I took her to a mommy and me class. We met another mom and daughter who became friends and we would all spend time outside of the class. It was nice to have someone my daughter connected with as well.

• Join a new group or Bible study at your church. Do you have a hobby that you love or an activity you enjoy? Being a mom doesn’t negate our need to enjoy our own interests, and finding a group to be a part of that doesn’t have anything to do with motherhood can  be a great place to find a friend who can support you in what you are passionate about or interested in. Having friends who are in other stages of life is important and valuable to our mothering, as well.

• Reconnect with an old friend you’ve lost touch with recently. Motherhood can be busy and we can sometimes lose our connection to friends we’ve had in the past. This might be a good time to intentionally reach out to an old friend and catch up on how you’re both doing.

God designed us to be in relationship with others, no matter what stage of life we are in. Friendship is so important in the midst of mothering. If you are lonely, take some time to pray and then look for one place in your life you could reach out to another woman and make a new friend today.

We are so excited to partner with the YouVersion Bible app in offering this free 7 day devotional! 

With over 75,000 competitions, each day in How to Have Intentional Friendships has a daily scripture, story, and friendship prompt. It is encouraging and slightly challenging (in a good way!) as you find, keep, and love your friends.

And, because our first YouVersion devotional was so popular, we added an additional 7 days called How to Have Intentional Friendships, Part II.

Both excerpts are from our book, The One Year Daily Acts of Friendship, available everywhere books are sold.     

Looking for more resources around friendship and kindness? Have you checked out our other books?

Are you looking for more resources? Have you checked out our books?

Looking for a resource to help your middle school girl navigate friendships? 

We've got you covered with this FREE 7 day devotional except from our book 100 Daily Acts of Friendship for Girls!  

Written for girls aged 8-12 as they navigate friendships in upper elementary and middle school, we include a scripture, short story, reflection questions and (in the book only, 50 fun activities to do with you or friends!), it's a wonderful way to encourage your daughter, niece, granddaughter, God daughter and her friends to build healthy friendships from an early age. 

As an added bonus, the YouVersion devotional includes Conversation Starters to help you as you read along and discuss each day's friendship takeaway. We're so excited to offer this sampler through YouVersion and Tyndale House Publishing!  

If you love YouVersion's free 7 day sampler devotional, consider picking up the 100 Daily Acts of Friendship for Girls.

Friends, our new motherhood E-book Grace for the Imperfect Mom: A 31-Day Invitation to Refreshed Mothering just came out and we could not be more excited to share it with you! This book was a labor of LOVE, full of GRACE, and the UNDERSTANDING that we are all in this mothering journey together! We wanted to write this book because we realized that we are not perfect, not even close, and that maybe some of our mama friends needed some encouragement (as we have found that we do!).

Want more details?

As moms, we constantly juggle many things—schedules, appointments, meetings, activities, chores—along with the emotional, mental, and spiritual care of our children. On days when dinner burns, the kids are pulling each other’s hair out and stepping on your last nerve, you may wonder if you’re patient enough, kind enough, or just plain good enough to be a mom. It’s enough to make you bend under the pressure if you think too much about it!