How Having “Soul Sessions” With My Friends Transformed My Faith

But what I found to be most beautiful is what happened after our meetings. Following our more formal discussions, my three friends and I would migrate to my living room, light a candle on the table, and sit around it to talk for hours. The intellectual conversations transformed into more personal, spiritual ones. What is God’s purpose for my life? Where does he want me next year? How can I hear him speak? We would share what we had learned, what touched our hearts, how we felt the Lord acting in our lives, and what we were struggling with. They were soul-to-soul conversations. It must have been the first time in my life I had friendships so deeply rooted in Christ, and probably also the first I had ever experienced so much vulnerability in ones as well. I couldn’t help but feel there was a connection there.

“God’s presence was and continues to be tangible, real, and alive through my beloved friends.”

It felt as if we all had our hearts on that living room table each Friday evening, and the freedom and fulfillment that came from it was so incredibly beautiful. Those three friends know my worst flaws, darkest thoughts, and deepest brokenness — yet love me more fully than I could have imagined. What a gift to be able to experience this glimpse of God’s unconditional, eternal love for me.

Throughout that year, we accompanied one another and grew — spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. Their friendship nourished my soul in a way I didn’t know it could, in a way I didn’t know it needed. I began to pray daily, was more aware of God’s presence in my life, and more deeply rooted in my identity as a child of God. In times of struggle and anxiety and self-doubt, they grounded me in love and reminded me of God’s promises for my life. In times of great joy and celebration, they shared in it and praised with me. In times when I was off-course and lost, they lovingly set me back on and corrected me. God’s presence was and continues to be tangible, real, and alive through my beloved friends.

For the record, not all of our conversations were deeply philosophical and theological. We were still just college students who also talked about boys, complained about classes, went out, and watched “The Bachelor” together. But our friendship was rooted in something more — something bigger than common interests and surface-level conversations. 

While we are now graduated and scattered around the world, “Soul Sessions” lives on. When we connect through Facetime or text on the group chat, we get transported back to our small, candle-lit living room table. We continue to accompany each other through life’s challenges and changes, supporting and praying for each other through the good and the not-so-good. These profound “Soul Sessions” cultivated a companionship on this journey of life. While our time together began as a source of intellectual nourishment, it brought about a deep, spiritual one. They have truly been one of the greatest gifts of my life. So I offer a word of advice: For those who have found Soul Session friends, hold on to them dearly. And for those who haven’t, ask God to place them in your life and perhaps venture to ask the bigger questions. You never know who might share them.