The year I turned 35, I made a New Year’s Resolution to make more close friends. We had just left New England and settled in Towne Lake. With the gift of being able to engage a brick in conversation, I enjoyed many acquaintances. However, leaving a wonderful friend and prayer partner in Massachusetts, I just thought it’d be easy to find other women who . . .
1. were Jesus freaks
2. read their Bible and wanted to talk to other chicks about what they were reading and learning
3. could hold deep conversations about just about anything without fear
4. and we could make each other laugh our heads off

What I found was, “not so much.” If I wanted to talk about kids being tested for gifted classes or decorating I had more than enough people ready to offer an opinion and converse one on top of the other.

This gal from South Louisiana was lost from the get go. I was more interested in playing with my kids than talking about them, and my house was decorated in what Mr. Bob calls “Early Halloween:” nothing matches, but everything has a story.

Having released Mr. Bob from meeting ALL of my needs years earlier, I set out to plan to have “lunch” with one girlfriend a week. I didn’t want a group because I felt the need to build deep relationships and you can’t do that in a pack.

I gotta tell ya . . . it was completely intimidating at first. I argued with myself weekly with “she has more than enough friends and doesn’t need any new ones,” and “what if she leaves to go the bathroom because I’m boring and never comes back.” I figured it was worth the risk, because I missed my New England friend and I WANTED A FRIEND.

I am SO glad that I made it a matter of prayer and got over myself.  These lunches have changed my life.  With the transitions that I’ve experienced over the last 5 months, I can’t imagine having come through them with such joy and anxious anticipation with what God has in store for me without these precious women:
– The one who calls me over and over even when I forget to call back
– The one who makes me go shopping even when I don’t like shopping, but I feel better just being in her presence
– The one who will call on her cousin Guido should I need an equalizer and offers up his services regularly
– The one who listens…alot
– The one who I gave birth to
– The one who calls ME baby girl at 50
– The one who text messages me at the oddest times
– The one who drove out in the middle of a workday to bring me flowers
– The one who asks me what I’m reading and what I’m praying about even when we haven’t talked in weeks
– The one who will spill her guts to me in the short 10 minutes we will have to ourselves because we know we are safe with one another
– The ones who serve on my Personal Board of Directors

Oh, and my friend in Massachusetts? Well, she and I are getting together in July to attend a LifeWay conference on serving with and alongside women. And her baby girl is coming here to spend a few weeks serving in Vacation Bible Schools with me in June.

Oh the rewards of being surrounded by Titus 2 women!