when it's meant to be more than pretty...

they sit on either side of me when that sermon has been preached and the last song has been sung;

those two who are married to brothers,

those two who are so good for my heart.


we chat quickly because there are babies to be picked up and fed,

but for a few moments, hearts connect

and before we all go in separate directions, the one places a small gift in my hands.


and i don't know if she knows the depth of the gift...

that small square of yarn crocheted into knots.

the one formed in the late hours,

that rainbow of colours whispering peace into pain.

and it's in that moment,

the one where the water is squeezed out of the fibers so i can wipe down the counter, the colours all darkened by the moisture they hold, that i think of the dear ones in my life; the ones who i have been so privileged to call friend.

and it's a dish cloth,

and they aren't...

but it's more,

and they are deeper...


but He has woven, and is still weaving, into my life other lives that add colour and intricate beauty that only He could form.

like that cloth held in my hands,

friendship is meant for more than a pretty showing,

it's meant for going to those deep places that are hard,

it means absorbing the pain, the tears of another and holding tightly together to the One Who watches over it all.


it's a verse that's used often, but i can't help but feel it in my soul as i look at each knot layered on top of the other,

though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

ecclesiastes  4:12

and a friendship wrapped around the Truest Friend can remain intact regardless of distance or circumstances because it finds itself wrapped up in Him.

i stand in my kitchen, pressed up against that counter

and He touches this heart through the gift of a friend...



and i am joining in and giving thanks today...

1142* patience

1143* hands that show love

1144* ears to hear laughter

1145* grey cloud cover

1146* a kitchen all straightened up

1147* a brunch delivered

1148* "i got to help daddy today!"

1149* "mama? i was *brave*!"

1150* "you're beautiful to me"
1151*  my gramma's bible

1152* this pink sweater

1153* his blue blanket he holds close

1154* the life inside these walls

1155* busy, glorious chaos

1156* crip, cold artichoke hearts
1157* the family He keeps growing

1158* words that greet me every morning

1159* my notebook

1160* the life of dietrich bonhoeffer

1161* an unexpected hot cup of coffee

1162* sweet, sticky kisses pressed against my cheek

1163* the way the sun wraps around my kitchen

1164* the moon reflection on the windshield

1165* the shadow across elias' face caused by my hair as i hold him in the late hours

1166* a rainbow of colours knitted together

1167* yellow daises that bloomed those two weeks long

1168* women who pray for one another