***
in a unique, 'love, actually' type way, i had three very different encounters with friendship today; all which lead me to believe that friendship knows no wrongs.
first, i had lunch with one of my super-close girlfriends. a spiritual sister. a confidant. a trash-tv'er. sitting there talking, i was so blessed by her kind words, her support and her affirmation. she offered such christ-like love in her listening and advice; and i feel as if the Lord himself would have been sitting with us, He would have felt blessing from our conversation. i love the closeness that allows me to lay all the pieces of my broken heart on the table, and i'm not chided, i'm comforted. i'm not lectured, i'm loved. i'm not talked out of depression, i'm talked into encouragement. like a puzzle, we talked about each little piece as we put it into its correct place, and i was so blessed by the care and character in which we were able to do that.
***
i got an email today from california. from a friend i've known longer than i've liked hanson (trust me, that's a long time; and in fact, we fell in love with them together!). we had a falling out about 6 years ago, and things haven't been the same since. but, she came across my blog, and emailed me a contact that might help me out with the haiti sitch. even aside from the potential support from her contact, what struck me most amazing was that, even after all these years, and the ups-and-downs, all that it took was a facebook message with a simple act of kindness, and i'm reminded that even if we don't speak for a few years, she'll always be there for me; and i will most definitely always be there for her. even in our distance and absence, friendship knows no bounds.
***
tonight, a good friend called me. i had mentioned haiti the other day as a thought, in passing really. and today i texted a favor regarding my flight. in the stead of my insensitivity to the fact that although all of this has been happening in my life, i haven't really made a proper proclamation, she put the two together and then started reading my blog that i had emailed her. realizing that she had no clue (largely in part of my partially intentional neglect to tell her) about any of this that was going on in my life, she called and we had a long, tear-filled, heartfelt, encouraging conversation. both equally as guilty, we had let our close-friendship slip through the cracks of our over-worked, under-paid lives. in the mix of the hustle of work, school, internship, projects, church, boyfriends, or what-have-you, we let a great friendship in which we used to complete each others non-sequitur sentences turn into one you read about each other's lives through a blog. her calling me tonight was an olive branch; one that will undoubtedly be recognized and met with my own increased efforts.
i am telling this story with purpose, i promise. she had such good things to say; so much encouragement, insight, affirmation of character. in beginning to diffuse her praise-- (because, although we love it sometimes, it also makes us feel awkward, and even though we often say oh no, stop, stop! inside, our heart is often saying please go on), in beginning to argue against certain strengths, i felt the low soft whisper of the Lord say don't. let her. you both need this.
and he was right. as her words continued to flow, so did my tears. i needed to be encouraged, desperately. and i think she needed to encourage. i could sense so much regret in our negligence to our friendship, and that pained me so much, as i could tell it had, her. so we talked, and cried, and cracked each other up for the better part of an hour and a half. i revealed all the dark, frustrating, depressing moments that have been the past two weeks (really?! only two weeks!? i'm never going to make it), along with all the strength, growth, insight, and truth that i've drawn from the Lord through it all. she gets me in a way that only a handful of people truly get me. i am very fortunate for those friendships, and conversations such as the one had reminded me just how necessary it is for me to continue to affirm those friendships and keep current in them.
***
the Lord blessed me in three very different ways by three very different friendships. the undoubtedly-(teal)-bridesmaid kind. the wedding-guest-that-travels-294085-miles-no-matter-what-to-make-sure-she's-there kind. and the will-play-the-best-roll-out-casio-keyboard-at-your-reception kind. in person, email, or phone; in nashville or LA; in talking daily, a few times a month, or maybe just once a year. i know that i am blessed beyond belief for the friends i have. i hope they know how thankful i am for their presence in my life, and how a simple email, apology, or affirmation that i was neither seeking nor expecting, makes my heart cry in a joyous chorus of an SATB range, and sing praises to the Lord for the people that are in my life.
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