Journeying through life together…

Two Saturdays ago our friends Bonnie and Chris came over for dinner. While our white chicken enchiladas were baking we snacked on salsa and homemade guacamole outside on the patio. I’ve been wanting to have Bonnie and Chris over to hang out on the patio for YEARS and it finally happened!

Andy edged and mowed the lawn during the afternoon, so it was looking particularly excellent that evening. Even though I haven’t weeded or planted any annuals yet, our lilacs were finally blooming after 3 years and the pink weigela branches were drooping with pretty blossoms. It was really nice to sit on the patio and snack on mexican goodies surrounded by the beauty of the yard.

After the oven timer went off we moved the party inside where we filled up on enchiladas, Spanish rice and cheesy re-fried beans. We mostly chit chatted through dinner and I worked on getting 6 oz into Grace before bed. Unlike most babies, she is not really into eating…she’s much more interested in crawling, climbing and exploring!

After dinner Grace went down and we moved back out to the patio with icy cold frozen margaritas. By this time it was raining (as was typical during the MONSOON season that we experienced in May!) and the patio wasn’t quite as awesome when we were all crowded in the middle to avoid the falling rain.

The party moved inside again and we got settled into the rain-free living room. After Ellen entertained us with her usual antics, she fell asleep sprawled out on the couch while the rest of us shared what was going on in our lives. I take that back…I WENT ON AND ON ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT’S BEEN STRESSING ME OUT!

Being the wonderful friends that they are, Bonnie and Chris listened to my struggles and frustrations, asked lots of thoughtful questions, brought Andy into the conversation and really just invested themselves in us. They encouraged us, they shared stories from their past experiences, they encouraged us some more, they listened and listened and they topped it all off by bathing us in prayer.

Several years back I read a book by John Eldredge and was so enamored by the ideas he was sharing in the book that I decided to check out his ministry website and read all about him, his wife, and the team they work with. There were funny bios about the staff that included their likes, dislikes, favorite foods and hobbies, etc. But more than that, as I read about this team of people and the love they had for each other and how they “journeyed through life together” I was jealous. In the best way, of course. My heart longed for people to journey through life with. To share the joys, the struggles, the fun and the pain with. People I could pray for and people who could pray for me. I really longed for it, but didn’t really think I would necessarily experience it.

Bonnie and Chris have been friends like that to us. We have laughed till we cried, eaten until I ended up laying on the kitchen floor stuffed to the gills, cried over the pain that life entails and prayed for each other until there are no more words left to pray.

When they left that night I felt so incredibly blessed. I felt like a burden had been lifted a little and I could breath a bit deeper. I felt known and understood and like I wasn’t alone. I felt like the years that they are ahead of us on this journey were a testimony to me that things are going to work out and that change will come.

I felt thankful to know such wonderful, special and generous people. Thank you Bonnie and Chris, I love you both!