Better Together

I spent a lot of years protecting my kids from friends.

Yea, you read that right, but if you knew the whole story, I know you'd understand.

When my daughter, Little Sister, comes in off the ski hill with her smiling, blue eyed beauty-friend, my heart melts clean, and that sad grave stone rolls away, leaving something new...something resurrected.  This friend of hers...just busting the buttons off her coat at how well Little Sister is doing out there.   'Coaching and encouraging her through each run, and staying with her the live-long day when she could have been skiing the hard stuff.

I thought only her mama was like that...the way she wooed me into our friendship by teaching me how to trust authenticity.  The way she encouraged and coached me through the hard runs.  The way she said, "Lazarus, honey, take off your grave clothes." in the way she loved me.

Little Sister's friend smiles at the camera, and her eyes light up, and my world lights up and these two girls... they love each other, and I find myself staring at this dear friend who is changing my daughter, and...

Changing me.

I thought only her mama could do that.  The way her eyes light up, and the way her mouth utters truth, and the way she changes the way I think about things.  The way she reminds me that it's never too late for God to redeem the lost, the broken, the scared out their minds,  and us two women...we love each other.  My life is being raised, and He is using His very own daughters to manifest His power here on earth.  It's taken a lot of years and a whole lot of Jesus for me to gather a handful of the dearest friends in the whole wide world.  I plan on living the second half of my life more deeply, more joyfully and more truthfully...because of them.  I plan to live the truth:  I have been raised with Christ, and I am alive in Christ, and I am in love with Christ.

Little Sister's friend tells me, "I prayed, 'Lord, please don't let her get hurt.'" when she got going too fast and she thought she was going down a black diamond.  Little Sister disappeared, and her friend got scared.  So she prayed.

  I thought only her mama did that, and thank you, Friend, and  the rest of you who know who you are, for all the times you've been on your knees for me and this family of mine.  Thank you for doing life together which means practicing this holy experiment of living and trusting Christ with all that we are.  It means that I choose to live with the story of my life, even the dark chapters, laid open on your lap, and it means that you actually turn the pages and keep reading.  It means that I find more of myself and  more of life in the reading of your story too, and it's called choosing love.

Life together is better.

On the drive home, I keep checking on them in the rear view mirror sitting side by side.  Little Sister is out like the lights in Georgia, and the blue eyed beauty-friend, the real hero of the day, stares out the window.    I wonder if there's any chance she can see the reflection of her own face in that window, and if so...

Does she see God?



Bernadette

All photos on this page are taken by the talented, artistic, beautiful, and amazing young lady mentioned in this post.  She is not only a great friend to Little Sister, but she's a great friend to me.  I love you, girl!