Old and new

The friendships that I have with Godly women are not something I take lightly. My circle of friends fluctuates during different seasons of my life, but right now I feel overwhelmed by all the great women I can call a friend. Last week was filled with time spent with so many of them. Old and new; there is comfort in the friends who have walked with you through much of life and there is joy in feeling instantly connected to someone that you are just getting to know.

I had lunch with one of the new friends last week. She is young and passionate about the Lord. She spent much of our lunch asking me questions because she truly desires to know and understand me. It's refreshing to spend time with someone who doesn't want to talk about themselves! That same evening I was blessed to get an entire evening of kid-free hang out time with Amber. We were celebrating our semi-regular Girl's Night Out. Shopping, eating, shopping, dessert and a movie. Seven hours of total freedom! It was wonderful and I am daily thankful for this woman's friendship and influence in my life. I love having a friend that I can still talk on the phone to for 25 minutes despite the fact that we just spent several hours together. I love that we share the ins and outs of our day and I know what she's cooking for dinner and that I get as excited as she does when she gets a great deal.

The next day I went over to my friend J's house and we managed to have great conversation in the midst of kids with questions and making lunch. J and I have been friends for awhile, but have been spending more time together and realizing more and more how great the other is. That evening I met up with a friend from our house church that I am doing a Bible study with. We usually meet with our daughters in tow so having an hour with just the two of us at Barnes and Noble was fabulous. We were able to share what the Lord has been teaching us, both through the study we are doing and in other areas of our life. We marveled at the way God's timing is so perfect and the way He always seems to tie things together from different parts of our life. It was an encouraging and challenging hour together.

We headed out of town on Thursday and I was so excited to discover that one of my old friends was in town and we would be able to see her. The only downer is that we didn't meet up until 11pm! And guess what we did? We went to the grocery store and Walmart! Living on the edge, I know! But it was fun because it reminded me of years past and doing necessary things at all hours of the night with her. We talked in the parking lot in her car until 1:45am. So much to catch up on and share. New love in her life and all that God is teaching her through that. Encouraging her that you never get it all figured out (and yes, that is encouraging to know!). She and I have walked through a lot together and some of my favorite youth ministry memories, or really, mishaps revolve around her. She is a stay-up-late-laugh-alot kind of friend who I am so thankful for!

Sometimes I have really great ideas and I had one of those late last week. Jess only lives about and hour and a half from my mom's house so I suggested that she and her husband come spend the day with us. We had a quick stop planned at their new house, but I was feeling the need for more time together. Thankfully, Jess felt the same and she and Curt came over Saturday. We celebrated Cale's birthday together and they so easily fit into the rest of our family. We really didn't do anything special, ate a lot of good food, savored the beautiful weather and just enjoyed being in the same place. I miss that. I miss her. I miss being part of the daily happenings and just showing up at her house to hang out because I had nothing else to do. I miss road trips and praying together and cruising the book store for cheap books. But life changes you and moves you and right now we are in different places. But our connection to each other remains strong and I won't let that go.

We change and we grow. We move on and we look back. It's all a journey and at least for this moment I am grateful to walk through it with these women by my side.