Good Friends...

(Some mentioned are not pictured!) :)

Are hard to come by. It's true. As a member of the female gender, I had good friends growing up, but there were always those females who were all out for the drama. Girls were constantly backstabbing one another, and the Lord knows how difficult it was to be 'just' friends with guys. Then, my senior year of high school I was certain I'd never have a friend again. The friends I had known all my life no longer showed much interest in me, and I felt for sure no one would ever want to befriend the girl who'd been labeled 'Jesus' as a derogatory term.
I had to get to a place where I could accept that. If I never had a "best friend" again... or even a boyfriend again... that had to be okay. Jesus had to be enough. It wasn't comfortable, in fact, it hurt. The sting of attending school every day and feeling alone was deep. But I constantly had to remind myself and proclaim to God that He was enough in my life.
Fast forward, well, apparently about 7 years since I'm 25 now, and I realize the blessings I have in my life. I've obviously had a boyfriend, as I now have a husband and a beautiful baby boy. Together they give me great joy! I read some lyrics to a song yesterday that echoed in my heart all day:
"He loves your old guitar
Yeah he's taught himself to play
He melts my heart
Tells me he loves me everyday
And cracks a joke at the prefect time
Makes me laugh when I wanna cry
That boy is everything to me
He gets that from you
He gets that from you "
I cry just reading them. Aaron and Bryton are such blessings in my life. Every perfect gift is from above.
And then there are the friends. Wonderful, beautiful, amazing friends. A group of women in my life, that, to be honest, I never would have put together. A wonderful working mom of 3, almost 4 children, with a great deal of wisdom to share, a compassionate stay at home mom of 2 who adds joy and constant fun in my life, a beautiful mother to be who I can always count on to be honest and to help me carry my burdens, 2 other trying-to-be-mom-to-bes ;) who are encouragers and always make me laugh. And the list continues.
It was such an incredibly hard stint in my life to feel so very alone, but two amazing victories came out of it. First, Jesus and I became very very close. He really was enough for me. Second, I realized that the friends worth having are worth the wait. I don't feel the pressure of drama or worry about anyone being mad at anyone. We all recognize that we all have faults, but love each other regardless.
To all of you friends and family in my life: Thank you... and know that I thank God for you daily!