Girlfriends

Girlfriends are so important to a woman, even a happy mom of two needs her girlfriends.  If I think back to the day I was packing all my belongings to head to college, I can still remember thinking about how much I was going to miss Sarah and Heather.  Sarah used to play the piano and we would sing  the Michael W. Smith song, "Friends" at church or summer camp or wherever it was needed.  I truly believed that "Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them."

Fortunately, Sarah and I are still friends.  We had a few years when we went through a rough patch, but we are, once again, very close.  It has been such a sweet thing to be able to renew our friendship in the past few years as we became mothers together and have truly grown to be confidantes again.  I am blessed that she is only a little over an hour away from here, but I still don't see her as often as I would like to.

When I headed off to college, God gave me some more wonderful friends.  My dear friend Melissa once told Jessica and I that she thought we were connected at the hip.  We truly did have a ton of classes together, and we lived together, rehearsed together, etc...  We were both flute players and music majors, so it wasn't as if we were doing it on purpose.  But...God did bless us with a great friendship that has lasted through the years.  We don't talk nearly as often as we should, but we both know that we can always rely on the other one when we're going through a tough time.  She is a jewel that God has given to me, and I miss her very much as well as the other girlfriends God gave me during that time.

After college ended, God called us to go to Painted Post, NY.  Can you believe God calls people to a town with a name like that?  It is actually a beautiful place that still feels like a home to us, and, of course, I have many girlfriends there.  I remember crying crocodile tears as we were packing to move there, and the tears were even bigger when God made it clear that it was time to leave.  But the girlfriends God blessed me with there came through like never before.  I don't know how I would have survived moving away from them without the phone calls, cards, e-mails, and even visits from them.  I will always look forward to hearing Stacy's voice on the other end of the phone.  Sure, I would much prefer giving her a hug, but hearing her talk about her kids and her life is precious time well spent.   God truly filled my cup to overflowing when he blessed me with each of my girlfriends in NY.

God put each of my dear girlfriends in my life for different reasons.  They all play a different role, but I miss them all the same.  I would love to hang out with each and every one of them right now, even though they are truly spread out from coast to coast, from California to Delaware. 

My prayer is that God would give me another precious friendship where I am now, but I can't imagine another blessing as great as any of the ones He has already given me.  I love my girlfriends.  And since I know that if I delight myself in Him, he will grant the desires of my heart, I know that this desire will be fulfilled either through my current supply of precious girlfriends or through the love of a new friend.

Dearest Abba Father...Thank you so much for all that you have given me.  My husband, my children, my family and friends, and tonight I'd like to thank you especially for my girlfriends.  They are so precious to me, and I praise you for bringing each of them into my life at the moment I needed them.  I hope that I have filled a space in their lives and helped them even a fraction of the amount that they have helped me, and I pray that you help me to do that.  Thank you Jesus for these women of God that you have placed in my life.  You are awesome and amazing to me...Amen