Friends...

This week I have had the over-arching theme of 'Friends' running through my life. Especially my thankfulness for the awesome friends that God has given me. Both new friends and old friends, friends nearby and friends from far away.

Tonight I went out with an old friend--a friend I've had for years--11 of them actually! All 11 we've been close--even though we haven't always lived close together. How great it is to have a friend (or two or three) to know and who has known me for so long--not just an acquantince or surface friendship-but one that goes deep. How thankful I am for that.

In the mail this week I got a gift--a gift that held within it words of encouragement, support and friendship from friends I left in Minnesota when I moved. That gift got me a little misty-eyed and reminded me how God had blessed me with amazing friends in MN--friends that don't go away just because a few miles are between us. Makes me wonder if I'll ever meet new friends that come close to comparison in Chicagoland.

But new friends I DID meet this week in Chicagoland. I carpooled into downtown Chicago with Emily, a girl I met 30 seconds before getting in her car to carpool. We are both newbies in the kayaking club, and live close to each other, so it makes sense to be carpool buddies! After an hour and a half in Chicago traffic, we had great conversation and I knew she'd be a new friend of sorts; but that new friendship was put to the test when I promptly locked her keys in her car when we arrived at Lake Michigan! I was mortified, but she was totally cool about it, and AAA had her car opened up in less than a half hour and we hardly lost any kayaking time at all! Leave it to me... :o)

I have seen God place friendships in my life--both the deep and the light, the old and the new, the near and the far--as blessings, encouragement, inspiration and a glimpse of His Love.

Love all you friends reading this right now! You rock!

Love,

Holly :o)