friends.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

--C.S. Lewis

See those ladies above?  Yup, they are mine.  Friends that is.

They are clearly beautiful gorgeous, and even more so on the inside.

I just got to spend the whole weekend with them and while I am coming down from the high of fun we had the past few days, I have been reflecting on how lucky I am to call them my friends--my sisters.

I remember the day they asked me to be one of their senior year room mates in college.  I felt undeserving, not cool enough and nervous out of my mind, yet so excited!  Little did I know that the next year I'd live with them would be one of the best ever and truly life changing.

Stories of ding dong ditching, writing on tables, slumber parties, crying together, laughing together, survivor-thons, interpretive dance performances and heeps of other memories will forever be instilled in both my head and heart.

It is not unusual for friendships to last past college, but I truly feel I will be friends with these ladies for the rest of our days and for that I feel so truly blessed and lucky---and still a little undeserving.  I cannot even begin to convey how much of a God send they are and have been in my life and what models of inspiration and authenticity they are. 

After spending any amount of time with them I instantly feel rejuvenated, motivated and like I've seen a picture of what God calls me to be as a Christian, woman, wife, mom, etc.  Just as Proverbs teaches us: 

"Just as iron sharpens iron--so one person sharpens another" 27:17

These ladies are sharpening me.

They sharpen me through each conversation, email, prayer, thought, opinion, and just by being themselves.

This weekend we were all talking and one of them brought up a quote--"healing doesn't come in isolation".  We all are in need of healing for our own individual struggles and when we fight the isolation and our own comforts to keep those struggles to ourselves and finally let down our walls and share these trials with our friends, we can finally not only begin the healing process, but often find ourselves thinking and/or saying---"you mean I'm not the only one?!"  

What a blessing to know that you are not the only one to struggle with XYZ!

I was so encouraged this weekend by the walls that came down, the bravery that took and the love overflowing--to be able to hear what my sisters have to say and think, "wow, I'm not the only one!"  It has sharpened me--probably without them even knowing and has brought me that much closer to finding my identity in Christ.

Thank you ladies for being the iron that sharpens me and blessing me beyond what I deserve by your God-given gifts and presence in my life! 

I am SO lucky!