A Letter to My Sisters

"we weren't sisters by birth, but we knew from the start...fate brought us together to be sisters by heart"

For the first time in my life, I have the most amazing group of friends!  We not only adore one another and can spend hours laughing and chatting, our friendship is grounded in Christ, and is therefore deep and unique.  I do not take these ladies for granted.  There are days where they are my lifeline, and I have learned that I rely on these women in ways that I never have before.  Please don't misunderstand, my husband and children are my number ones, but these women are no longer friends...they are my sisters.

And then I ran across this little treasure:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe...They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

Acts 2:42-43; 46-47

This is what Jesus' Church looked like at the beginning!  People devoted to learning and fellowship; eating, both meals and Communion; and praying.  And all of this was done with glad and sincere hearts that were busy praising God instead of grumbling and fighting.  They worked together for the good of all, selling their stuff and giving to anyone who "had need."  This fellowship of oneness and sharing enjoyed in the early church are fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, with joy being the mood of the believer.  The church has changed over the last 2000 years - we no longer enjoy "the favor of all the people."  But it is refreshing to know that my Church community - my girls - embrace much of these traits and characteristics.

This is a letter that I wrote last weekend in the midst of my 102 degree fever that accompanied my Strep throat event.  As I was texting a friend to see if she could pick up my oldest from school, I realized that this was not the first time I have called on my friends over the past nine months, and although I know I have expressed my gratitude, I wanted them to know just how amazing I think they are and how much I love them.  And, because I believe you can never say thank you too many times!

Here's my sappy letter...and yes...I am a crier.  I can get teary over just about anything!  A blessing and a curse I think!

Dear Friends-

Looking back over the past 9 months, life has thrown a few curves at me.  Some were not unexpected and some came out of nowhere.  But all seemed to send me to my knees.  Between sickness (my own and that of others), surgery, death, and family stuff, I have been humbled in ways that I have never been humbled before.  I was in that cave the Brain talked about last year.  It was dark and lonely.  And it seemed that with every strike, it got darker and lonelier.  But, when I looked up, there you all were, my Sisters in Christ, standing beside me, united, linking arms and holding me up, with your torches, bringing in the light!  You stepped in when I didn’t even know I needed you and when I was so desperate that I didn’t know what else to do.  I love you all deeply and dearly and I am eternally grateful for you.  You have each shown me what a godly woman represents.  Because you all know me, you know I am teary as I reflect on what a blessing you all are to me.  Thank you for your love, support, and encouragement, as well as your willingness to challenge me and get me out of my cave and back into the world!  I can only hope that I am half the friend to you as you have been to me.

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."

I love you!!!

Lisa