I’m sure I’ve shared this before but I’ll gladly share it again … You need to surround yourself with some folk who will dance for YOUR blessing. You need to be around some folk who can pray your tail out of some stuff when you start acting ignorant. You need to have some folk around you who can discern others when you’re too blind to see it. You need to have some folk who knows the real you no matter how ‘they’ try to scandalize your name. You should have some folk, ready, to go to war with you in the spirit. Pastor, you need some folk connected to you who won’t look at you differently if you happen to open a beer instead of a bible. First Lady, you need some folk, outside the church, who understand what you’re going through and won’t judge when you don’t feel like being holy. Baby, you’ve got to surround yourself with some folk who understand you, no matter what your title is. You’ve got to have some people around you who will celebrate and cry with you. Some folk who will tell you, in love, you’re being stupid. Some folk who won’t mind telling you, in love, you’re messing up. Some folk who will tell you the truth instead of pacifying your wrongs. You need some folk around you who can be trusted.
This is not just for those in ministerial positions, this is for everybody. You need some trustworthy friends around you that although they may not call every day, you know they still have your back. This includes family too. Look, I don’t need you around if every time you get mad, you tell my faults. I don’t need you, if you only show up when it’s good but not when it’s bad. I don’t need you, if you can only eat with me when it’s fancy restaurants and I’m paying and not when it’s sandwiches at the house. Nawl baby, you just stay over there because I don’t need you to only show up at the victories but I need you in the valleys too. See, when you surround yourself with good people, they won’t mind letting you refill from their saucer because they know they have plenty left in their cup. When you are in the company of good people, they won’t tell nobody the times you’d had to lean on them. When you are in the presence of good people, they’ll put their hand on your back to keep pushing you, those times it seemed you stayed still too long. When you’re in the presence of good friends/family, they’ll support you no matter what or where it is. This is why you have to be sure of those with you. If they can’t walk with you, they shouldn’t be able to fly with you.
“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” –Proverbs 17:17
Lakisha, the Author 