We Were Never Meant to Bloom Alone

Mar 8

An Open Letter on Sisterhood | International Women’s Day

When I think about the women who have shaped my life, I don’t first think about platforms or titles. I think about sisterhood. I think about hands reaching back for me. I think about women who loved God boldly and refused to let me figure it out alone.

This is an open letter to that kind of woman. The woman who loves God boldly. The woman who is still healing. The woman who is still becoming. The woman who chooses community anyway. When I look at my life, it’s a testimony of sisterhood. I think of:

Theo, who began mentoring me when I was 14 and she was only 21 herself, freshly married with a newborn. She didn’t have to say yes to walking with a teenage girl. But she did. She sowed wisdom into me before I even knew how much I would need it. She showed me what it looks like to take faith seriously at a young age and to walk with intention.

I think of Jennifer, who saw the fears and insecurities of my younger years and didn’t dismiss them. I could bring her the very real shenanigans of juvenile life, and instead of minimizing them, she met me there. And now, we have grown into adulthood together. There is something sacred about that kind of friendship. The kind that stretches across seasons and matures with you.

I think of Chantilly small group 04. I think of HB and Tomi and so many other women who welcomed me into a new community at a new church with open arms. That was a season of rededication for me. I was learning how to walk as a new creation in Christ in a way that felt surrendered and real. And they allowed me to explore that freely. There was no judgment. No pressure to perform. Just grace. Just space. Just women who made room for my growth.

I think of sisters like Maddi, Arnell, Damaris, and so many more women I get to build with, pray with, and dream with. I think of sisters like Oprah, Rachael, and Jasmine, who remind me of who I am when I forget. Women who show up consistently, who celebrate loudly, intercede quietly, and step into the trenches with you instead of cheering from a distance.

I think of Rachel and Golden, who I used to run around JMU’s campus with, getting into all types of shenanigans and laughs. Those college days were full of joy, immaturity, and becoming. Even then, God was shaping me through those friendships. Those women have been part of forming the woman I am today in ways I did not fully understand at the time.

I think of Steph and Miata, women I can be real and authentic with, who affirm me but also call me out when I am acting up. I think of women like Volda and Queenly, who I can grab IHOP with late at night or seafood boils midday. The ordinary moments. The unplanned conversations. The laughter that turns into prayer. That kind of friendship is a gift. To be loved deeply and sharpened honestly at the same time.

And when I step back, I realize something beautiful.

My life is not just a testimony of personal obedience.

It is a testimony of community.

It is a testimony of women who refused competition.

Women who chose collaboration.

Women who chose presence.

Women who chose to stay.

Sisterhood isn’t always easy. Some of us carry wounds from it. Some of us have experienced betrayal, exclusion, misunderstanding, or comparison. Some of us secretly long for deep friendship but are afraid to admit it to God because we don’t want to be disappointed again. But I want to gently say this to you today:

Do not give up on sisterhood.

If you desire a community of women who love God and run toward Him boldly, be honest with the Lord about that. He is not intimidated by your longing. He created you for relationship. He designed us to reflect Him in community.

If there are broken places in your heart because of past friendships, invite Him there. Let Him heal what was fractured. Let Him restore what felt lost. Let Him rewrite your expectations.

And then expect Him to do a new thing.

Because He still builds community.

He still knits hearts together.

He still sends sisters into our lives at the right time.

To the women who have shaped my life, thank you.

To the women walking beside me now, thank you.

To the women I have not met yet, I am already grateful for you.

With so much love,

Bel

Belinda Addae

We Were Never Meant to Bloom Alone

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