There are women who hold my heart.
Because they hold it tenderly.
They hold it like a treasure. They hold it with lots of trust wrapped up like so much fine, pink tissue paper.
Today we are all telling our stories about what it feels like to trust a friend. And not trust a friend. It’s a project I’ve been working on for nearly a year now.
You’re invited. Just as you are.
So let’s spend our five minutes of writing today, sharing about community. Fight it, love it, hate it, hurt or healed by it, we were certainly built for it.
Set a timer and just write. Don’t worry about making it just right or not.
Go all in with your words.
Are you ready?
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:
Friend…
:GO:
When you are tired and weary, come, lay your head down here by me.
I will scootch over on our beat up old brown leather sofa and make room. I will also make tea. And maybe put on a few of my favorite tunes. Hymns from the southern hemisphere, soft, slow, in Zulu.
Let me lull you back to feeling like yourself, your feet up and your heart allowed to just let it all out. The tired and the disappointed. Bad hair days are welcome here. I will heat you up something that will feed your soul. I hear potato soup is best for that.
Hand me your kids and I’ll find them a room full of Legos all mish mash mixed up – we come and go easy here. Don’t dress up; kick your shoes off. Chaos is always welcome at our place.
My daughter eats ice cream off the pavement and I let her because nearly spring should be savored – every delicious bite. Friends are comfortable slurping in front of one another.
Let your hair down, turn your phone off.
Let us love you here on a busy Friday afternoon. We’ll go first. With our stories of ordinary, sometimes stupid, totally broken and beautifully pieced together glory. Feet up on the coffee table.
Shoes off.
Holy ground.
STOP
I’ll be sharing my own messed up stories of missing out on mom friends for so long that I started to just straight up tell the truth about motherhood myself. It’s free to tune in – they call it an in real life conference that comes to you – just click here to join. No need for a babysitter. Just tune in right where you are.
This year it has it’s own theme song. How together we can do something extraordinary. Written for the (in)courage community by the amazing Christa Wells & Nicole Witt in celebration of what we can accomplish in Christ when we do it together –
Brave beating hearts – we can do something EXTRAordinary.
I believe it. Every wonderful word.
{Click here if you can’t see the video.}
If you haven’t yet registered for (in)RL – the virtual girl’s weekend that comes to you, wherever you are in the world – you can do that here for free!
When you register you’ll receive a brand new (in)RL eBook and complete access to all of the videos, including a Friday AND Saturday keynote! This year we’re talking about the power of sharing our stories – and we’d just love to have you join us on April 25th & 26th.
Yaaaaay, I’m officially the first to post my comment!
Today’s #FMF prompt is really personal, because I’ve been blessed by true friends this week. Thank God for friendship!
Start: 10:09am Kenyan time
Sometimes I think friends are angels sent from above. They come into your life when you least expect it but when you most need them. They laugh with you, cry with you, and bring you sweet and spicy coffee and your favourite biscuits when you haven’t had time for breakfast. They listen to you, kick you in the butt when you need it and are honest with you. They cook for you and with you and laugh about silly stories over a glass of cold milk and cake. They tend your heart when it’s broken and guard your secrets with their lives. They hold you close on a bad day and dream with you of a better world. Friends are one of God’s greatest gifts. What would the world be without them? This week I have seen just how important it is to cultivate quality friendships, and I’ve been humbled by the level of support, care and love they have shone in our time of need. Thank God for friendship. And hugs. And hot, sweet cups of coffee. And tears. And for friends who drop everything to come over when grief strikes.
Stop: 10:14am Kenyan time
Thank you Lisa, for hosting this fabulous writing exercise/hop…love this each week.
What a blessing.\
Beautiful post!
After a rough night last night, I had to write about my hubby. He loves me so much and I am so lucky. As a military wife a lot of my friends are not in the same city as me and with an upcoming move I am stressed to the max. Praying each day for friends like you wrote about at our new assignment. Thanks!
Friend
For those we take for granted when life is going well, we realize how very important they are when it seems that the world is falling apart all around us. How grateful I am for my forever friend.
My husband
My companion
My forever friend
He loves me unconditionally and I don’t even know why. I’m so blessed to have him in my life and I hope that even through all the stress and frustration that I have been feeling the last few months. I am eternally grateful to have him in my life.
I’m pretty sure he knows though. He is always there to love me, hug me and listen to me and assures me that he loves me. I am so lucky to have him, so lucky indeed. I hope he feels just as lucky about having me.
Such beautiful words you leave here about friendship. I have counted friends in my life to be among my greatest blessings and gifts from God. Truly, in every season– some for a lifetime, there have been people God has sent into my life to bring SOO much grace and to remind me that everything is going to be ok…and usually to also remind me that I’m totally normal in my crazy mothering!
BTW, I’m coming to your house for some soft hymns and potato soup…you’re speaking my love languages there!! haha. (:
I have women in my life that I call my “true” friends. They are amazing women I met while I was in the military and some from my childhood. The thing they all have in common is that I can pick up the phone on any given day and talk to them like we’ve never missed a beat. Time has nothing on us. These women I’ve chosen to be in my life are in my life because of what they have done and are willing to do for not only me, but for each other. We’ve had family get togethers, we’ve set up play dates for our children and we’ve even used each others babysitters to go out in a big group just to get away.
Angie, what a beautiful gift God has given you. I know the military life can be transient, yet God has given you roots and nourishment through these women!
Thank you Wendy.
Let me tell you about my friend. She is generous – giving freely love and kindness. Because of that, she has a fan club of people who want to be WITH her wherever she is. She is funny — laugh-out-loud, ugly crack-up face, teary-eyes funny.
I was with her the day she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I was WITH her on my deck in the sun, listening, praying over her pain-physical, emotional, parental — all the yuck. I was with her in the dark days of depression of fear, in the hospital visits and texting, in the bone marrow transplant room where I wreaked all sorts of crazy havoc somehow that we split our sides laughing over. With her when she spoke of the beautiful merciful caregiver who had shaved her head. With her as she had me laugh-crying and loving her all the more. This friend is a perfect gift from God to me. A friend who allows me in when the going gets toughest. A friend who lets me see the depths from which she cries. A friend who gives me her hand.
Great post. You’re blessed with such a good friend and it sounds like you’re a great friend too!
Blessings to you,
Wendy
Friends…hmmm. enigmas to say the least. i’m not a good friend. I’m a distancy friend. i don’t like to get too close. i’ve been burned and i’ve done some burning myself. i know i need to forgive those friends who saw me as a project…as a free marriage counselor…but i truly long for the type of friend where i can get close with. a best friend. i had a best friend once…but we lost touch. i’m still sad about it…and i blame it on the fact that my folks got divorced and i had to leave my childhood home…the place where i first learned the happiness of friendship when life was uncomplicated…playdates natural…a place of belonging…shared culture…shared common background. after my dad remarried, we moved to a very closed area where people were less friendly. in a span of 6 months, i experienced rejection, bullying, and all other kinds of meanness. why do i hold onto that hurt–it was 35 years ago, for pete’s sake. but the feeling of lostness…in a strange, new place, a non-shared experience of culture still alludes me. at middle age, i still hope that one day i’ll find those special friends that’ll last a lifetime. who’ll like me for who i am.
Hi Lisa-Jo! I am excited to join in the FMF fun!! I am a new blogger and so I wasn’t sure how to add the badge to my wordpress page but I most definitely enjoyed reading all the FRIEND posts. Have a fabulous weekend!
Lisa-Jo, It may be too soon for me to say this…. but I want to share. I feel like I finally found my community- family even…. I’ve only participated in FMF twice, and really, I only came for the writing. BUT, the writing, the linking up, your community- they gave me a surprising gift: other bloggers just like me. Seriously, I’m an older mom. My youngest is graduating from high school in a few weeks. While my blog isn’t really a mom blog, and while I’m not the traditional age for a graduating senior’s mom (I’m too young), I’ve never quite found my place in this whole blogging world. I mean, where does someone who doesn’t traditionally fit the normal roles fit in anyways? Yet, I kept looking. Hoping. And then today, the beautiful ladies who stopped by from here were mostly women with older kids blogging about faith. I don’t know. Nothing may come of that, but for the first time since I started this whole blogging thing (way back in 2006) I finally feel home. So, thank you. Thank you for inviting me in.