Monday, July 25, 2016

20+ Years of Friendship

Friendship. It's one of those hard things to define.  I even looked to Webster for help, but he gave me nothing, simply defining it as "the state of being friends".  It's easier to describe what friendship is by how it affects me and makes me feel.  Over twenty-five years ago (how can that be?) I began friendships with several girls with whom I still have the privilege of them being involved in my life on a fairly regular basis.   They are girls who knew me as a young child who grew with me into junior-highers, high-schoolers and eventually going off to college with most of them.  We've been in each others weddings; been there for each other during two of our spouses deployments; and hosted many baby showers (as you will see in the group picture).  We've been through the ups and downs of job changes, moves, parenting trials and just dealing with the struggles of real life stuff.  So, to me, friendship should be defined as any person who knows you well, who has walked with you through difficult days, who encourages you to pursue your dreams, who pushes you to be better even when it might not be what you want to hear and who is willing to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed. Two verses epitomize what friendship is, Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another" and Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times."  These ladies have been both of these things to me, helping to knock off my sharp edges as they have loved me through thick and thin.  Lindsey coined the phrase "kidney friends" meaning, we are all friends who would donate a kidney if need be and that pretty much sums up "friendship".

So this past weekend we had a little mini reunion with all of our families.   Most of us now live back in Little Rock but Lindsey's family had to make the three hour trek from NWA.  Thanks so much for making the effort!  It was a pleasure to all be back together under one roof even if just for a few hours.  Here is the whole crew, we have sufficiently been fruitful and multiplied!
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The kids kept busy with an all out water balloon fight, I'm pretty sure we went through 400 plus balloons.
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They also enjoyed playing games and just running around outside, thanks Christy for hosting!
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The girls preferred to be inside and playing with the animals.
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These are the women who have been in my life for quite some time now.  I'm thankful for each one of you and grateful to be able to walk together through this journey called life.
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It's also such a blessing when your spouse enjoys being around your friends husbands too! I loved hearing the laughter coming from their direction cause it made my heart smile!   Life-long friendships are a treasure, one I don't take for granted!  I love each of you and am oh so grateful for the time we got to spend together! (Now lets not wait so long to do this next time, or some of us will have teenagers, yikes!!)
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