For friends

Recently heard this duet by Amy Grant and Nicole Nordeman, and thought it was so moving. Apparently it is based on the friendship of Ruth and Naomi. Once again, makes me realize the gift I have in friendship with so many beautiful, holy women. I am so grateful to be walking this road of life with such dear friends. Many of us single ladies know the joys, hardships, and confusion of this stage of the journey all too well. And one of the things that make the challenge much more bearable is by bearing eachother's burdens, by lifting eachother's faces, and by walking on His path, side by side as we try "to gather up [our] dreams/trying to hold on to anything". As the song says, "Until your heart, finds a home / I won’t let you feel alone / I’m with you, I’m with you, with you" Gals, your strength and perseverance encourages me; your friendship and solidarity blesses me. I'm with you!

Blast from the past

So, last night a group of my close friends here and I got together for a girls night. After a delicious dinner of Indian takeout, we were chatting it up and suddenly got on the topic of American Girl dolls. American girl dolls were a huge part of my childhood, from the excitement of getting my first doll (Kirstin), to collecting their beautiful outfits, to getting together with friends and playing with our dolls for hours. One of my friends mentioned this article, that someone had recently passed on to her called "How your American Girl doll shaped the rest of your life." We all thought it sounded very intriguing, and so she found it online and read it aloud to us.

As my friend read the article, we roared with laughter about each description -- and even nodded our heads a bit and how much of it was true. Although I had three AG dolls, Kirstin was my first and probably my favorite, so I claimed her description. Much of it was quite accurate...minus me wishing pioneer dresses would come back in style. haha.

Naturally then this led us to the American Girl website so that we could show one of our friends (who emigrated to the US from India when she was in middle school and was unfamiliar with the American Girl doll phenomenon), these famed dolls. And then of course, once you are on the American Girl website, why not take some of their fabulous quizzes? Over the course of an hour, we figured out "What kind of shoe you are", "What flavor of ice-cream you are", "What Disney princess you are", and one of my personal favorites, "What kind of rain forest animal you are."

Admittedly, we all loved these sorts of quizzes when we were in middle school. Somehow they still have a hilariously interesting appeal with 20-something year-olds. Maybe it's kind of like how you and your single girlfriends can never quite be too old for M.A.S.H. (Or maybe that's just me and my friends. :-) Ridiculous? A little. Hilarious? Absolutely! Thank God for girl time, and for reminders of the simple joys of being a kid again.

Baked birthday surprises

It's not even my birthday yet, and I have already been showered with delightful homemade birthday treats two days this week. On Wednesday my dear friend Liza made me one of my very favorite desserts: fudge-y brownies. Perhaps almost as endearing as the surprising appearance of the baked good itself was the covert mission undertaken to discover my favorite dessert a few days earlier.

Apparently, Liza put my friend Joannie in charge of figuring out my favorite dessert during our Memorial Day weekend beach trip. I did think it was a little random when during a pause in conversation at our restaurant dinner table, Joannie asked all of us girls "So, if you could have your favorite dessert, what would it be?"

I mean, I thought we were pretty good at making conversation without "getting to know you prompts", but I figured I would go along with it and describe my favorite dessert. Apparently, this was a key success in the "mission-to-find-out-Maria's-favorite-dessert" mission.

I was delighted when Liza whipped out the brownies at book club in honor of my birthday, and even more amused (and surprised) when Joannie said that was why she asked us all at dinner about our favorite desserts. It suddenly made so much sense.

Then this morning, when I came in to work, one of our student workers had made a delicious batch of red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing in honor of my upcoming birthday. So very delicious! And I was again, very tickled to realize that she had remembered my favorite type of cake in a passing conversation a few weeks back. Needless to say, I enjoyed some delicious red velvet cupcakes and coffee throughout the day.

I am so thankful for such sweet friends, who shower me with such sweet treats.

Today I celebrate 25. Tomorrow I celebrate 26. And the South Beach diet can wait until I am 26 and a day. :-)

Friendship across the miles

One of my very dear friends from Washington, D.C. came to visit this weekend. It was so wonderful to see her, and I so enjoyed catching up with her, showing her around Nashville, exploring fun city jaunts, laughing at inside jokes, and just spending time together. The time went by way too quickly though, and I was so sad to say goodbye to her this afternoon. It made me so happy to spend time with an old friend in my new city; but at the same time, after saying goodbye, my heart felt so empty. Like when I was in college and I would return back to campus after a weekend at home with the family. It's like you remember was you are missing. And you miss it even more. The old friends, the family, the familiarity of it all. And then I begin to wonder, what the heck am I doing here.

But there is a resounding peace that I am where I am where I am supposed to be, and it drowns out the nagging unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and unknown.

I know that the Lord is calling me to open my heart to new experiences, new friendships, new horizons; blessings that have already been been touching me in subtle but profound ways here in Nashville.

But I am ever so thankful for those old friendships; for those people who know me, know what makes me tick and what makes me laugh. It is a gift. Even if my family and friends, the people I love the most, live far away, I take solace in the words of St. Francis:

Never think that geographical distance can ever separate souls whom God has united by the ties of His love. The children of the world are separated one from another because their hearts are in different places; but the children of God, having their hearts where their treasure is, and sharing only one treasure--which is the same God--are consequently always united and joined together.
~St. Francis de Sales

Amen.