Madly in Love

There is no doubt in my mind that good girlfriends are essential to a great quality of life.
And not to brag, but I have amazing girlfriends.

Everywhere I've lived I have been so blessed to have women around me whom I admire and learn from and love deeply.

These ladies in various states and countries have been my guinea pigs, my encouragers, my sounding boards, and my encyclopedias of knowledge springing from vastly different experiences.

Perhaps the quality that I most appreciate in all of them is their total acceptance of me - warts and all, so to speak.

I have asked them to do some pretty random and wacky stuff over the years and they've done it - without question and without fail.

This past week, I sent out a text to some of my sweet girlies that just said something like,
"Good morning!  Could you please give me an adverb?  Any old one will do."

I received a response from every last one of them.  Not one lady asked what it was for or why I was asking.

I did however have one friend say that I got the award for the most random text first thing in the morning, one who assumed it was blog fodder (it wasn't at the time) and another say that if it were from anyone else, they would have asked if my autocorrect messed up my text.

That photo up top is why I was asking.

I had found this fun little wall hanging at Dillard's on clearance last year.  About the time I procured it, I found out we were moving so it was never hung.  Then it was in a box.  After unpacking it, it did have a place on my wall but was blank.  This week I decided to remedy that.

My plan all along was to have a party and have my girlfriends give me words as they walked in the door.  Although texting them wasn't as fun as a party, it got the job done...well, almost.  I was waiting on one last word to complete it.

All of this took place in the morning and we exchanged funny texts and I giggled at some of the words and it was blissful. 

Then I checked Facebook and my mood instantly changed.

The first three posts in my feed were tributes to a little boy who had been battling brain cancer from Diva's school in Marshall.  Marshall is a small town y'all.  The death of a child is felt by everyone.  I know this family, although, admittedly not very well.  Devon went to school with the child and his sisters.

When I saw the news, I broke down in tears.  I cannot fathom losing a child.  I prayed for his family, his little school, his parents' marriage, and mostly for his Momma.  His Momma who still has to run a company and be a wife and be a mother to her two girls and live her life. I prayed for her girlfriends to be a barrier and a soft place for her to land.

As I prayed I couldn't help but think of this Easter season.  God sent His son to be fully man so that He might experience all that we do.  So that He has felt what we feel.  God Himself has grieved the loss of His child.  I can only hope that John David's Momma will turn to her faith and know that the Creator of the universe intimately knows her pain and wraps her in His comforting arms.

My girlfriends were already aware of the situation and yet they didn't chastise me for being silly with them that morning.  They gave my ignorance grace.

And then the last word came in for the mad lib.

That's when I sent them this text:

"...Thanks for being silly with me today. Little did I know that when I started this nonsense this morning, I would need some levity this afternoon after finding out about John David and weeping over his mother's broken heart. Thank you girls for being a bright spot and good therapy even though we are miles apart. Lots of love."

I am madly in love with and so very thankful for my girlfriends because they don't question my insanity, they just come along for the ride. And because they give me a wide berth of grace and are a sweet balm to a sore heart even if sometimes by accident.