Don't worry, this isn't a cautionary tale of woe, but one born out of a full heart.
I have been blessed to have a handful of friends that, to me, are more like 'sisters-from-other-misters'. The kind of friends that when one of us is in need/crisis/emergency, the rest rally around (don't worry, these situations are not prevalent). Our friendships have withstood crazy distances and timezone differences, internships, weird work schedules, and prolonged gaps. We find the time for emergency FaceTimes and GoogleHangs so that we can pray over/for each other. And I always leave those sometimes lengthy, and other times brief electronic reunions with a full heart and full spirit. They are life giving relationships.
Community. Honesty. Joys. Openness. Fears. Truth. Faith. Struggles. Frustrations. Laughter. We do all of it in these sister-friend units that were formed many years ago.
It strikes me too, that it is so easy for me to focus on the "they never keep in touch" or "I feel like I'm putting more into this than 'so-and-so'" (friendship famine if you will); however, as soon as we get back into a rhythm, it's as if no time has passed. We can say, "I really need prayer for [this]." And the response is immediately, "Ok, let's do it now!"
I am me, and I never feel a need to wear a mask, or pretend, or make an effort to try to be someone I'm not.
Just as Jesus called out (He chose) His disciples, we choose our friends. Jesus chose 12, and of the 12 He had 4 that were "His guys". 4. You can't have close relationships with everyone, and you can't have deep relationships with everyone. Be okay with that. Take your *12 and walk through life together; then find your *4 and dive deep with them.
So let this be a small tribute to the women that mean the world to me, my spiritual sisters, goofy-gals, and dear ones. I love you all, and feel an immense amount of gratitude to the Father for placing you in my lives (and thankfulness for the wisdom I had in choosing you as my "bosom buddies"...too weird? Oh well! Now everyone knows what my role is in the groups.)
[*Numbers don't need to be literal takeaways.]
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