friendship {tuesdays unwrapped}

An Unexpected Friendship
If we keep our eyes, ears and most importantly, our hearts open … I believe friendship comes in many varieties.  See my friend Cyndi below?  She came in from out of town recently to stay with us for three nights.  And guess what?  I’d never met her before!

How do I know her then?  The internet.  Gasp!

Per Taylor, “You’d better lock the doors mom!”

Cyndi started following my blog.  I started following hers.  We became twitter and facebook friends.  We emailed.  We encouraged.  We advised.  She became friends with 2 of my besties.  She mentioned a few times that she should come up for a visit and finally we talked her into it!  We had the best time!  My girls adored her!  She’s soft spoken, gentle-hearted, and honestly … a kindred spirit.  Which was evident the moment we both tore into our bag of chips before we even touched our sandwich!  :)

Cyndi wrote about her visit with us and you can read all about it here.

Why the hats?  We went to a hat party of course!

During Cyndi’s visit, we went to Chicago for the Renegade Craft Fair with our besties Heather and Leslie.  It was a carefree, fun day and felt like we’d all been lifelong friends … amazing really.  And such a blessing.

An Acquaintance Made Bestie
And speaking of keeping your heart open to friendship … it’s amazing how Leslie came into my life … again!  She and I went to the same high school and were choir geeks together.  Being one grade apart, we didn’t connect while in high school … but {cough, cough} years later … here we are.  All because of the internet!  Leslie’s become an amazing friend who I’ve come to trust and love.

A Friend Through Thick ‘n Thin
And nothing I write will give this friendship justice.  Heather has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone.  She loves me fierce and has my back.  This past weekend, CJ and I had a wedding to go to … he backed out and took the girls up north leaving me to my loser lonesome self.  Heather asked if I needed a date and said she’d come along with me!  Seriously amazing.  Left her hubs and three littles at home … made the 40 {plus} minute trek … all so I wouldn’t be alone.  The Lord blessed me good with this girl!

A Friend In Heaven
Lastly, do you remember my friend Lori?  She found her heavenly home just over a year ago now.  To remember her friendship, a few of us got together at a local Starbucks, played games and chatted.  One friend even brought a little heart-shaped frame with Lori’s photo and put it on the table so she could spend the evening with us.  Such a sad and bittersweet moment, but it’s hard to begrudge her the joy of dancing with our Savior.

I am so blessed and thankful for the friendships I have … and for the ones I continue to form.  And I’m so thankful we have a God that knows who to bring into our lives and when to bring them.

This post is linked up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky


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18 Comments

  1. Southern Gal September 21, 2010 at 7:12 am

    A true friend is a wonderful blessing. So glad God has blessed you with so many!

    Reply
  2. Mrs. Sojourner September 21, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Beautiful. They indeed sound like they are all sweet blessings in your life.

    Reply
  3. cyndi September 21, 2010 at 8:42 am

    Crying good tears over here. So blessed to have found you, my kindred spirit :-) So blessed as well to have met Heather & Leslie. Unexpected friendships from unexpected places – love it! Also loving that picture of you and Heather – gorgeous!

    Reply
  4. cyndi September 21, 2010 at 8:48 am

    p.s. I think I need a copy of our pic. Even though you know how I feel about it, it still makes me smile super big. Awesome reminder of a FANTASTIC {month long} visit :-)

    Reply
  5. Leslie September 21, 2010 at 9:47 am

    Awww . . . tears of joy over here. :-) Thank you, Tracie. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for you & your amazing presence in my life!! Love you!!

    Reply
  6. Manda September 21, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I love this post… friendships are so near and dear to my heart. This summer I was able to meet my first “blog friend”, and what an unexpected gift it was. Love how God weaves authentic community!

    Reply
  7. Manda September 21, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Don’t know what happened to my previous comment…
    Just wanted to say I love this post. Friendships are so near and dear to me. I was able to meet a “blog friend” this summer and it turned out to be one of the best gifts I could have opened. I love how God weaves authentic community all over this world.

    Reply
  8. Sharon Cohen September 21, 2010 at 11:01 am

    The love you feel for your friends is so apparent in your words. Bless you for trusting an internet friendship. I took that chance and will never regret it either. Thanks for hooking up with Tuesdays Unwrapped.

    Reply
  9. keely aka LKP September 21, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    i concur. to all of it!
    He knows better than we do. (:
    thanks for being my friend.

    Reply
  10. heather September 21, 2010 at 1:22 pm

    I cannot even begin to tell you the blessing you are to me friend! (and I know every one of your friends would say the exact same thing) You are an amazing woman and the most incredible friend! And I do love you something fierce!!! :-)

    I love the photo of you and Lori from way back in the day! So cute!!

    Reply
  11. Cathy September 21, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    I’ve always called my friends “my chosen family”…. :) you are so blessed to have so many wonderful people to share your life with!

    Reply
  12. Christine J September 21, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    Love the picture of you and Lori. So glad we could spend time together remembering her. I’m thankful for our friendship that has grown from that friendship. Am I making sense? :)

    Reply
  13. Angela September 21, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    What happened between CJ and Taylor?

    Reply
  14. Dawn September 21, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    your gathering for lori just touched my heart here… the celebration of her… i love that. so much.
    i love how you love friendship… me too :) and one day i am coming to visit, ok? ok :)

    Reply
  15. dawn September 21, 2010 at 9:34 pm

    This is so wonderful. What would we do without friends? I am one who took friendship for granted at various times in the past. Not anymore. What a lovely tribute to all of these friends.

    Reply
  16. Kate September 22, 2010 at 7:26 am

    Love this! Your are so lucky to have such amazing friends and they are lucky to have someone as special as you! :)

    Reply
  17. katherinemarie September 22, 2010 at 11:23 am

    What beautiful and amazing friendships— it doen’st matter how you find them… lifelong friends are such a TREASURE!!!

    Reply

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