JOY!

  I have been VERY blessed by a variety of friendships during my lifetime!! Several friendships have come and gone...they have moved, or their season of life has changed!! Many friendships don't stay around forever, but I am thankful for the time I had with these friends!! :)  Although I really dis-liked it when my parents told me that "we can learn from EVERY situation" I totally agree with it!! I have learned SO much about grace and forgiveness from these people! However, some of these friendships are lifelong...I might not get to see these friends all the time, a few of them don't even live in this country, but I know as soon as we see each other, or get to chat, NO time has lapsed between our friendship!! These friends mean the WORLD to me and I am forever thankful for their investment of time in me!!

  I got to spend time with one of my dearest friends just yesterday, and I am so refreshed by the time we got to spend together!!!! My friend Sarah and I have been friends for almost 10 years and our friendship has always been a blessing to me!! We are very much alike, but also very different, and it is in those differences that I am refined and challenged!! Sarah is not afraid to challenge me, in anything that I do or say!! She is always very loving in her words, but she is not afraid to stand up to me, knowing that I usually know better!! She loves Jesus and she loves her husband and I admire her SO much!! We got married within 6 months of each other and our husbands have the same career, so it has been fun over the years to chat with her about life, as we know it (as accountant wives!:)) She was there the days my babies were born and she came to help me on several different occasions, just because she knew I needed it!! Sarah helped me get the nanny job that I had for almost 8 years, and it too was a HUGE blessing to me! :) She has shared in so many JOY's and heartaches!! She is just a dear,dear friend and I cherish the friendship we share!! :)

  A lot of people ask me about friendships, and I don't really know why!!?? I, like many others have had friendships FAIL miserably, and of course they aren't just the other person's fault!! We are ALL messes, sinners saved by grace!! :) BUT...my BEST advice  is always this!! "In order to HAVE good friends, you must BE a good friend!!" Truly!! If you want to have good friends, you must take the initiative to BE a good friend!!! We are ALL busy and caught up in our own lives, but we have to make time for each other...even if it is a phone conversations once a month, or a late night "date" out together!!

 Soooooo, all of that to say... today, I am feeling overwhelming JOY and gratitude for the wonderful and Godly ladies that God has placed in my life!!!