Hearts at Home #5- Main Session- Jill Savage

I hope you have been enjoying reading my Hearts at Home posts. It has been so fun to reflect on all that I have learned. Friday’s schedule ended with a Main Session which I will share about in this post. The theme of this year’s conference was Moms Unite. In the main session, Jill Savage addressed this topic. Before going to the conference, I felt pretty good about my friendships. After listening to Jill, I was challenged and encouraged to grow more. The three main points I gleaned from the main session were: We need friends who carry us to the feet of Jesus when we can’t get there ourselves, Be intentional about being a “There you are” person and Be specific when offering help to friends.

We need friends who carry us to the feet of Jesus when we can’t get there ourselves

Jill began speaking about how friendship is hard work but it is so good. She also reminded us that we Mom better when we Mom together. Often in life, we need friends who carry us to the feet of Jesus when we can’t get there ourselves. In Luke 5:17-20, we read the story of men who carried their friend on a stretcher to Jesus so their friend could receive healing. This point really hit home for me. Our lead pastor had preached a sermon on a similar topic a few weeks prior to the conference so it was fresh on my mind. I am challenged to make sure I surround myself with friends who will encourage me and support me through the hard times. Friends that will remind me that God is in control and can bring healing. I also want to be this kind of friend to my friends.

Be intentional about being a “There you are” person

Another point that really stood out to me was my need to be intentional about being a “There you are” person. A “There you are” person is one who walks into a room and seeks people out. It is a person who reaches out to others even when they may be feeling shy. Though this may be hard for us, Jill encouraged us to be a “There you are” person instead of a “Here I am” person. A “Here I am” person walks into the room and wants everyone to give them attention. And when they don’t get attention, they can feel hurt and that no one cares. Ouch, right? I know I am guilty of being a “Here I am” person. I commit to being more intentional about being a “There you are” person.

Be specific when offering help to friends

The final take away I gleaned from this workshop was the importance of being specific when offering help to someone in need. Too often when someone is in crisis, we say to them “Let me know what you need.” Jill shared that when someone is in crisis they are most likely not going to give ideas of how you can help. As a friend, we can instead be specific about ways we can help the friend in crisis. For example, we can tell our friend “I’ll bring you a meal on Friday. What time would be best?” or “I am going to bring a crew of people to clean your house. Does 10 am work for you?” Let your friends know you care by actually doing something instead of just saying something. This point challenged me a lot. I have said way too many times “Let me know what you need.” I commit to being more aware of my friends needs when they are in crisis or even just having a busy week. I commit to not using the phrase “Let me know what you need” but instead offering help only if I can be specific about it.

Better Together

Jill shared so many more amazing points about friendship. I learned a lot from this workshop and couldn’t write my notes fast enough. I am looking forward to reading her book called Better Together which she co-authored with her daughter Anne. Until reading the book, I plan to grow in being more of a “There you are” person. I also commit to being a friend that carries my friends to the feet of Jesus when they can’t get there themselves. When a friend is in crisis, I will be more specific when offering help to my friends.

How about you? Are you a “There you are” or “Here I am” person? What type of friends do you surround yourself with? Do they point you to Jesus? What ways can you be more specific in offering help to friends?