sweetest gift I didn't know I wanted...

growing up i had an amazing group of girl friends. oh we spent so much time together between church and just hanging out. i LOVED these girls and spent obnoxious amounts of time watching movies, talking about boys and having sleepovers. it truly was fantastic and i thank God for those girls often. we all still stay in touch through Facebook mainly and sometimes seeing each other around town. but we don't talk daily, hourly like we did growing up. that being said...if anything big happened in my life or theirs i KNOW we would all be right there in a heartbeat. i KNOW that and am thankful for it.

fast forward to college and most of those girl friends had moved on the serious relationships and towards marriage and for me that didn't come until age 27.

SO in the meantime most of my close friends were guys. mostly because, let's be real, guys are easier to hang out with. no drama, no comparing yourself, no gossip, etc. it was just easy.

i did have times when i was jealous of the girl friendships around me but i was too intimidated by them to try to "bust in their circle" so i just stuck with the guys.

then i got married. and well you can't hang out with other men when you're married (or at least i didn't want to) so my close friendships kinda went out the window.

i didn't mind. i had super close friendships with my TA girls that filled my life. i spent as much time as possible with jay and was content with my life.

i didn't even realize that i needed/desired friends with girls my age. i enjoyed building friendships with my TAs and it never crossed my mind that i may want someone my age to walk through life with.

i had been running with Madison and loving it. we have always had the sweetest, yet very honest, friendship. she's been a constant in my life for YEARS now and i am thankful. she introduced me to Danelle and we began running together too. Danelle became a strong, godly, encouraging and faithful friend to me right off the bat. just like madison we shared honestly about things going on in our lives. but she's older than madison and married so we were able to talk about things that madison and i couldn't. i didn't know i needed it...but it was so good for me.

THEN about two years ago i got a random invite to go run with some friends from church (Colleen, Shelley & Jennifer) one sunday morning. we met at manchester park and ride at 7:15am and ran 8 miles together. that morning there was four of us.

from that sunday on Jennifer and I met, same place & same time, and ran at least 8 miles. :)

DISCLAIMER: i will talk about running in this post. NOT because i want to point out that i run or be "that girl" that is always posting about a workout or run. i know nobody cares, ha.  it's just part of our story :)

it only took about 3 runs before jennifer and i started really sharing life together. we were honest about the good and bad things going on in our lives. we shared what God was teaching us and what we were struggling with. it became one of my favorite times of the week.

i had been running faithfully with Jennifer & occasionally with Danelle when Jennifer invited Theresa to start running with us on Sunday mornings. I'd known Theresa from years before. We ran in the same circle and spent many a Tuesday night watching American Idol with a super fun group of people (ALL of whom intimidated me. and still do....but i adore them.)

It didn't take one complete run for Theresa and I to catch up and jump back into a sweet friendship. That girl cracks me up. We are BEYOND honest with one another and laugh nonstop. i loved her instantly because we both love Jesus but are both kinda bold and borderline inappropriate. Again, I had no clue I needed friend like her.

Sprinkled in throughout all this time was Meghan. oh Meghan. nobody makes me laugh or stresses me out like meghan. HA! i used to refer to her as a "running bully" because she is so much faster than me. LAWD she can wear me out by mile 3. but i still ran with her because i appreciated her friendship so much. she is hilarious. she diligently seeks His face and it is evident in her life. i knew i needed that push...both spiritually and physically.

slowly we all began running together at least once a week (if we could swing it.) those runs are my favorite. SO many laughs. SO much talk about food. LOTS of praying, crying and laughing.

we've probably been going strong for over a year now and i love it. we aren't like most ladies who meet for lunch or coffee. we meet early in the morning with zero makeup and bathroom breaks on long runs. it's hard not to be REAL when you spend at least an hour and a half together once or twice a week. that's a lot of talking, a lot of sharing....

you have to be REAL when you:
- plan your run around poop breaks (that's mainly for me)
- have zero motivation on mile 1 of a 10 mile run.
- look terrible that morning bc you were up all night stressed out about something
- almost bust it or DO bust it on a run. curbs, cracks, rocks, mud...they'll get ya!

here's what i LOVE about these girls:
- we are REAL. very real. we know the ins & outs of each others lives. we have walked through infertility issues, marriage problems, changing jobs, nasty/honest/fleshy sin issues, medical tests & diagnoses, sick family members, and so much more.

another DISCLAIMER: we do NOT talk badly about our husbands. i don't want anyone to think we get together and gossip or rattle off things we are unhappy with in our marriage. we are very careful to speak truth, life and in a way that honors God. maybe minus the cuss words Theresa and I throw out. when it's funny, we say it.

we run together still and we have started getting together for a potluck or for dinner once every 6 weeks or so. those times are PRECIOUS and FUN too. we actually have on "real clothes" and makeup but the conversation remains the same. we share life. we cry. we laugh. i say inappropriate things, we laugh more, we eat a lot, we share recipes, advice, love and prayer.

i didn't know i needed girl friends. i did NOT think i wanted them in all honesty but they have helped change who i am in such a godly way.

we are a lot alike but different in the perfect way. two of us are the "say it like it is" type but with humor and facial expressions. one of us is the calm, motherly type but brings a sweet peace and joy to the group, and the other two of us are brutally honest (ha!) but kind in doing so and keep us focused on Christ.

they challenge me to work through my struggles. they call me out when i'm going backwards or not speaking truth. they also love me when i'm having a hard time or just being fleshy.

i hope i do the same for them.

if you see us out running you can know that we are praying, laughing, thinking of a fun route, and not letting Meghan lead us when there's traffic (homegirl will run out in front of a car!), you can know that Jennifer is telling us hilarious things her kids have done, Danelle is encouraging us to try a class at the Y and asking about our time with God, Theresa is telling us about her exciting life (we live vicariously through her) and making us laugh. And i'm probably saying i need to stop at the next bathroom, telling a story about G and making fun of myself.

i love how God brings us gifts we least expect (or sometimes desire.) i love how He knows what we need exactly when we need it. i appreciate that He gives us (me) gifts when we don't deserve it or even ask.

my life is better because of the four friends. EVERY area of my life is better because of them. thanks for loving me girls. for being patient when my dang inner ear issues make me dizzy, for loving me when i'm still struggling with the same ol crap, and for leading me toward Christ in your speech and actions.

i am so thankful.