Friendships

It's a gloriously chilly and rainy Tuesday. I sit in a quiet house, save the ramblings of some Real Housewives. But I'm unsettled and distracted by the messiness of life.
I've had a few hours alone, Silas is napping and the girls are with Supermom Theresa. So thankful for dear friends that love my kids. She is my respite. She knows I needed a break and she was so sweet and selfless to give it to me. Without family in the area these days don't come often, which makes me even more tremendously grateful when they do come!

Friendships are messy. Life is messy. Relationships are hard. Adult relationships are hard. Finding time to nurture and grow friendships in between growing your marriage, teaching and shepherding your children is hard. I'm learning this more everyday. I'm learning what kind of friend I am, what kind I can be in this stage of life and what kind of friend I'd like to be.

I'd like to be the kind of friend who can make weekly phone calls with several different friends to just check in. I'd like to be the kind of friend who picks up a little something special and sticks it in the mail just because you thought of someone. I'd like to be the kind of friend that bakes treats and drops them off on a front porch with a note of gratitude.

The reality is, I'm not that girl very often. Phone calls are usually interrupted to wipe a child's hiney. Packages sit, unsent, contents scattered by little fingers and hidden beneath piles of bills. Baking treats takes a back seat to math books and phonics and grammer lessons. That's just how it is. I don't like it, but right now, I can't change it and I've made peace with it.

I am the kind of friend that can go weeks, even months without talking to someone and pick up right where we left off. I'm the kind of friend that appreciates a silly text message early in the morning. I'm the kind of friend that prays, incessantly, for those I love. I'm the kind of friend who would rather schedule a coffee date than chat on the phone. I'm the kind of friend to hug you at church and be genuinely excited to chat for a moment and hug your kids.

Of course I have a long way to go, and I pray the messiness of life and friendships can refine me into a more selfless, approachable person, because I love people. I really do. I think we all have a story to tell, insight to share and love to pour into those around us. I'm so thankful for the friends in my life.