Sometimes God Sends a Friend

It was a cold day in January when I walked into Easter Seals of Louisville for my first day of work. Shane and I had not even been in the city one whole week and I was in the early days of my pregnancy with Silas. Little did I know that on that particular day, God would send me a friend. 

Julie and I ended up with therapy rooms right next to each other, which was a gift neither of us knew we needed. When I first started, none of us had our own computers so we spent countless hours in the computer room writing reports, discussing our pediatric clients, sharing joys and sorrows, praying for each other, and generally solving the problems of the world. Julie was soon pregnant too and we began those early days of motherhood alongside each other. 

Our friend Michelle joined the therapy team and the three of us balanced home, work, babies, ministry, and husbands in seminary together. We babysat for each other. We encouraged each other. And on days when it seemed like all the parts of the balancing act were about to fall, we reminded each other of grace and mercy and a God who never fails us. Looking back, it was a simple time in many ways. 

All three of us have since seen our families grow...three boys and one sweet girl exactly. We live spread out but keep connected, still praying and encouraging and reminding each other of Truth. And smiling at how our lives parallel at times. 

A while back Julie asked if she could bring her two older boys to visit. I was thrilled! We hadn't seen each other since I was just barely pregnant with Blaise. Too long!

They flew in last week and we spent 3 glorious days doing some of the Tampa things we love: Legoland, the manatee watch, the park downtown, the beach, and of course just letting our kids get to know each other. It was so fun to see them become friends right away (I suppose a mutual love of Legos will do that). 

I could not be more thankful that God sent me a friend all those years ago. And thankful that friend came to visit.