(sorry for the screwy picture w/text. Ignore the text above. From left to right: Misty, Kate, Lynn, Kristin)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - I stole this photo from Misty's site. I wish I could tell you all the things she wrote there, but she keeps her blog private so I can't. Anyway, it would be a little self-serving, to say the least, b/c she wrote some amazing stuff about me that I do not deserve. These girlfriends fill my soul. They are truly soul-sisters. The best thing about them is that I wasn't looking for them. I was more than content with the beautiful friends I had and I felt like my life was so filled with the relationships I had.
Suffering, however, has a way of bringing people together in a way that we could never orchestrate on our own. Suffering opens the door to our hearts that allows perfect strangers to become wounded healers. That's what these friends are to me. All of us have had our lives turned upside down a time or two. Our stories are different but we speak each others' language.
While suffering brought us together, it's our commitment to recovery and growth that keeps us together. Look at the picture above. These girls are not victims. They are filled with hope and joy. We laugh. A lot. And we laugh loud. One of us (you know who you are) has a laugh that could generate an earthquake. It's contagious and unabashed, and I love it!
The picture above was taken the other night when one of them made me a strawberry cake (my childhood favorite) with homemade cream cheese frosting. I brought the leftovers home and my oldest son said that it was the best cake he had ever had - "in my whole entire life!"
If you ever get the chance to find friends that come from suffering, hold on to them. Learn from them. Listen to them. Love them. They are a gift.