radical friendship

when i was in elementary school my best friends were the ones that saved a swing for me at recess or traded their puffy stickers in our trapper keepers. we called random radio stations to request the latest richard marx song and ate marshmallow fluff sandwiches while giggling till late in the night. we spent our sunday afternoon jumping around the room to wham and wishing we could “go-go” with george michael everyday.

i think if my 36 year old self could swallow a marshmallow fluff sandwich it might come right back up. and as my musical tastes have grown and my pallet has matured my friendships consist of a lot more than saving a swing.

the women i get the privilege of calling friends have put a whole new meaning to the word radical.

they are the most loving, caring, compassionate women i know. if you ever want to meet women that make satan tremble these are them. they show up at my house on the morning of my first publication with flowers and my favorite candy and coffee. they send me notes in the mail telling me all the things i have forgotten about who God called to be. the send me random texts throughout the day to tell me they are praying. they save every penny they can to go to africa because they know without a doubt that God called them there. they wait years, years to hear that they have a child waiting for them on the other side of the world. they show up in the middle of the night when the fireman need to evacuate our house. they sit on the floor of the hospital praying with each other as their child goes in for a new heart. they lay down next to me and rub my back when i can’t see a reason to rise. they bring groceries to another when they don’t know how else to ease the pain. they give gifts so children they have never met will have clean water when they wake. they scream in delight when adoption is announced. they have paid another's mortgage payment.they have joined you in the journey of waiting for children. they have forgiven you in the “ugly”. they have given gifts that no one will ever know. they have forgiven hurts that no one should ever experience. they leave their multiple children to serve in third world countries and change the coarse of their lives forever. they stand up loud for who they believe in. they fight for each other. they take in the child that has been passed over and love him like their own. they travel thousands of miles to bring home one less orphan (x3). they enter into the suffering of each other and those around them. they love you where you are and where they see you need to be.

i am beyond grateful for what God has shown me through these women. they have shown me how to give. how to love. how to show mercy. how to serve. how to laugh. how to pray. how to write. how to believe. how to have hope. how to show grace. these women are my radical.