Reason #304
I had the day off of today thanks to the brave veteran's who have served our country. Bank holidays have been dubbed my "catch up with old friends" days. I had brunch with my best friend from junior high and high school, Stevi. Her little guy, who is turning 1 this week, joined us. He is seriously the cutest baby I have ever seen. I am not just saying this to be nice, or because I am biased, either. He really is an absolute doll (or very handsome, I suppose I should say). Anyhow, we try to get together every month or two to catch up on life. An hour's worth of conversation over breakfast can supply one with way more information than Facebook can. Of course, we always have a lot to discuss and usually spend a good bit of time riminiscing. We've got a lot of (slightly embarrassing yet funny) memories together!
I actually got to see both of my best friends from this weekend and it did my heart good. It really did! It's rare to have friends you keep throughout life and I consider myself completely blessed to have them both. I had lunch with my other friend, Laurie, on Sunday, as she was in town for a visit. This girl is sweet, and I mean sweet! She is so encouraging and uplifting, and she's as likeable as they come. We only see each other about twice a year, so we always have lots of catching up to do, too.
Last November, Stevi and I met for dinner. She was days away from having baby Hunter. I picked at a taco as we talked. I was really happy for her and really sad for myself. (Side note: I went to the doctor today and realized I gained back the 15 pounds I lost last year plus a few. Maybe I should go back to picking at my tacos...) She reminded me that she was praying for me. She wasn't the only one either. Her mother, her co-workers at the salon, all strong Godly women who were lifting me up, too.
I saw Laurie last November, too. We sat in a coffee shop that is no longer open. She told me her whole office was praying for me, and my heart was encouraged. Humbled to know that people who didn't even know me were praying for me. She was praying, as was her husband, and after we finished our coffee, I just felt relieved to know that more people were fighting this battle for me than I knew.
We label our friends: best friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, old friends, new friends, acquaintances, life long friends. Friends come in all forms. But when push comes to shove, when things get really hard, you come to see who your real friends are. Because real friends fight for you. Real friends stand up for you and defend your honor. Real friends stick by your side no matter what. They show up when you need them, no questions asked. They love you regardless of what state you're in. They call you for dinner even though you only have sad news to tell them and they know the likelihood of watching you cry is very high. They not only approach the throne of God on your behalf, they go even further and ask others to do the same. And over the past year, I've come to see how many real friends I've been blessed with. And although I am thankful for each one, I am extremely thankful for the ones who've been there for me forever.
These two have known me for a long time and have seen the many phases of my life. Girl Scouts, church, band, junior high, cheerleading, dance, high school, college, marriages, divorces, babies, moving... we've all experienced a lot together. We've seen each other go through a lot. Some things we got to witness up front and center and some things from afar. But regardless of what it was, when it was, how it was, I knew I could always count on these two.
And so, our time together this weekend was total opposite than last year. We laughed, updated each other on all of the new happenings going on, and were amazed at how different things were one year ago. Because each of our lives have changed over the past year... drastically. Starting over, building a family, picking up where we left off, wondering what the next step is, each of us are in a completely different place. But that's just life for you. You never know what you'll be handed next. And when you know that you've got friends like that, friends who first and foremost love God, friends who genuinely care about you and your well being, friends who are willing to hold your hand through anything, well it makes it a lot easier to handle whatever it is that is placed in your hands because you know you're not holding it alone.
#304 - Weekends to catch up with best friends!
"Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling. You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver." - Psalm 66:8-10
I actually got to see both of my best friends from this weekend and it did my heart good. It really did! It's rare to have friends you keep throughout life and I consider myself completely blessed to have them both. I had lunch with my other friend, Laurie, on Sunday, as she was in town for a visit. This girl is sweet, and I mean sweet! She is so encouraging and uplifting, and she's as likeable as they come. We only see each other about twice a year, so we always have lots of catching up to do, too.
Last November, Stevi and I met for dinner. She was days away from having baby Hunter. I picked at a taco as we talked. I was really happy for her and really sad for myself. (Side note: I went to the doctor today and realized I gained back the 15 pounds I lost last year plus a few. Maybe I should go back to picking at my tacos...) She reminded me that she was praying for me. She wasn't the only one either. Her mother, her co-workers at the salon, all strong Godly women who were lifting me up, too.
I saw Laurie last November, too. We sat in a coffee shop that is no longer open. She told me her whole office was praying for me, and my heart was encouraged. Humbled to know that people who didn't even know me were praying for me. She was praying, as was her husband, and after we finished our coffee, I just felt relieved to know that more people were fighting this battle for me than I knew.
We label our friends: best friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, old friends, new friends, acquaintances, life long friends. Friends come in all forms. But when push comes to shove, when things get really hard, you come to see who your real friends are. Because real friends fight for you. Real friends stand up for you and defend your honor. Real friends stick by your side no matter what. They show up when you need them, no questions asked. They love you regardless of what state you're in. They call you for dinner even though you only have sad news to tell them and they know the likelihood of watching you cry is very high. They not only approach the throne of God on your behalf, they go even further and ask others to do the same. And over the past year, I've come to see how many real friends I've been blessed with. And although I am thankful for each one, I am extremely thankful for the ones who've been there for me forever.
These two have known me for a long time and have seen the many phases of my life. Girl Scouts, church, band, junior high, cheerleading, dance, high school, college, marriages, divorces, babies, moving... we've all experienced a lot together. We've seen each other go through a lot. Some things we got to witness up front and center and some things from afar. But regardless of what it was, when it was, how it was, I knew I could always count on these two.
And so, our time together this weekend was total opposite than last year. We laughed, updated each other on all of the new happenings going on, and were amazed at how different things were one year ago. Because each of our lives have changed over the past year... drastically. Starting over, building a family, picking up where we left off, wondering what the next step is, each of us are in a completely different place. But that's just life for you. You never know what you'll be handed next. And when you know that you've got friends like that, friends who first and foremost love God, friends who genuinely care about you and your well being, friends who are willing to hold your hand through anything, well it makes it a lot easier to handle whatever it is that is placed in your hands because you know you're not holding it alone.
#304 - Weekends to catch up with best friends!
"Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling. You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver." - Psalm 66:8-10
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