You've got a friend...or 12

It’s funny, the people we let into our little worlds. I am so blessed to have a great many friends who enrich my life in ways that I could never even have dreamed of during those days when all I wanted was one “bosom friend”. These friends, with all their wildness and strength of heart, pursue me, challenge me, sharpen me, love me, provide rest for me, and know me (and this is just the tip of the iceberg) all in the name of Jesus, whom they steadfastly and refreshingly cling to. Without naming names, here they are…can you guess who is who?

One loves fiercely, is wildly funny, and fills up a whole room with her sunshine. If she told me to get naked and dance around in her living room, I might be inclined to do it, without fully understanding why.

One is unfailingly faithful, with a heart so full it bursts out onto everything around her. She is incapable of pretense and I feel incapable of it in her presence. She makes us all want to be a better mom, a better friend, a better follower of Jesus.

One is tender and careful. She tends the garden of my soul often on behalf of the Lord. Her presence is often enough to calm me and make me see a little clearer. She is all that, and then, when you least expect it, a kick in the pants that will have you laughing for days on end….dear friend.

One is as refreshing as fresh squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day. She’ll tell you straight up and makes no beans about it and wears it all so well. She also sees beauty hidden in me and convinces me to see it as well...as if she is God's little echo in my life. She is really more like family because we know all the best and worst parts and couldn’t imagine life without one another.

One is my insta-friend. She had me at hello. She makes me laugh out loud, a lot, and she has given me a new appreciation for the beauty in the routine parts of life. We travel companionably, through life together, certain that we have a friend along for the ride.

One stirs my soul. She sees all the way into my heart and invites me to be more, to go deeper, to shed some more flesh for the glory of God. She watches over me and my family through her prayers. She knows all about full life and spills it out onto me often.

These are just some of my friends. God’s richest blessings showered down on me after years of praying for just one. Alright, I get it already…You are faithful!