We've all been friends long enough (a decade behind us) to get each other. By the time your middle aged, juggling all that middle age entails, you don't have time to explain yourself. Your too tired and too unenamored with yourself to pretend like your anything other than what you are. For the friendships newer than a decade, they feel so based in reality, we would have repelled each other right out of the gate if it wasn't going to work.
Just after finding out that Lyme was still in Ryan's system (Sept. 15), my friend Deb and I went walking- she had gotten off of work around 7 p.m. and I didn't have to pick up Ellie from AWANA until 8 so we decided to take a half hour walk in the subdivision across the street from my house.
'I think we're going to take Ryan to Germany Deb'
'I figured'
'You did?'
'Yes, and I've already looked at tickets to see if it's possible to come visit you' (a gracious donor ended up giving deb enough miles to make the trip- thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!')
and it was settled, Deb was coming for a visit to Germany. Praise Jesus!!
A month of so later, in mid to late October, I was dropping off Ellie at AWANA at our church and popped my head into my friend Kristi's office (she is one of the children's ministry coordinators).
'Hey!'
'Hey!' Kristi said back and then shut down her laptop and pushed back her chair.
As I sat down across from her, something that rarely happens (especially not in public places and very rarely around others) happened. I begin sobbing. Not crying (this, I've done in public) but sobbing.
As Kristi talked words of comfort, I knew that she knew where my heart was...She know's because she's walked the road of having a sick child- It was only 4 years ago that Deb, our friend Treva, and I made the trip down to Stanford University Medical Center to visit her while she sat with her young son Nick as he recovered. Nick was having heart surgery.
'I would like to come visit you in Germany'
She wasn't quite sure if it was going to be possible but we both agreed that if God wanted her here, He would get her here. He knew her finances and whether it would work for her family.
Like Deb, the Lord allowed miles to come together and her trip to be booked- not only was she able to come, but she was able to get on the same flight as Deb.
As the trip got closer, we discussed what it would look like for me and what it would look like for them. Very few words needed to be used....we just got it.
'I'll keep the home front going while you guys go check things out'
'Sounds great'
When Matt and Isaiah were in Germany, we put right at 3500 miles on the car we rented- we saw us some sights! When Matt comes back at the beginning of March, we plan on seeing us some more sights (only this time in Holland).
Deb, Kristi, and I get together for breakfast
then they head out and see a lot of amazing sights, many of which I've been able to see
I keep doing the normal while they are gone (Ry's treatments, taking care of Elle, cooking, etc.)
then we all get together for dinner
and talk way too late into the night (solving all of the worlds problems of course...smile)
go to bed
and do it all again the next day
IT'S FABULOUS!!
We're breakfast and dinner kind of gals
Thank you Jesus for the gift of friendship.
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| this pic was just taken just after Deb (far Right) and Kristi landed here in Germany |
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| Celebrating my birthday and Treva's husband Jeff's birthday |
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| At the airport in our hometown, waiting for Deb's daughter, Arielle, to land after being a foreign exchange student in Russia for a school year |
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| Visiting Kristi at Stanford during Nick's heart surgery |
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| On a visit back home when I lived in Hawaii |
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| hee! |
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