An open letter to you if we've ever been friends.

I can count on one hand how many times a book has changed my life. Not how many I have loved or read more than once, but actually changed how I see or think about things. How it adds a new level of permanent appreciation for how God has crafted my life.

 

 

This is one of them. This is the book that made me think of how undeservedly rich I am, because of the friends I have in my life. Past and present. This book made me want to write a letter to every girlfriend I've had and say "You!! I want you to know you matter to me! You were a huge impact in my life!". It made me want to hug my friends tighter, laugh louder, and eat queso. It made me wish I had limitless SkyMiles.

 

I want to buy a copy and send it to every single girlfriend I can think of, and that is not an exaggeration. Because she put into words what a beautiful gift friendship is in this lifetime.

Even the ones that wound you. The ones that are life long and the ones that are not. The ones that range from the every day communication to the once in three years contact.

 

Maybe it's how this year has paralleled for me some lessons on how important friendships are, and what kind of friend I want to be. Maybe it's because I have two daughters now, one finishing up kindergarten ( I can't believe I am even typing that right now. Who am I, what happened and where in the world did I get a six year old?) and I can see these friendships forming that are creating a starting line of sisterhood.  

 

There is so much history, so many memories and so much color that is woven into the fabric of my life because of the other women God has surrounded me with, and I know that there is not a doubt in my mind I wouldn't be who I am right now if it weren't for every one of them.

 

So listen, here's my unsolicited and completely overzealous advice. Go buy this book, and take a little time to revel in the fact that whether you have what Gulley and Mel do or not, you definitely have your own version of someone(s) who will tug at your heart and make you get a little lump in your throat (and maybe remember a little too much about how bullheaded we were in college) by the end of it.

 

And if you're reading this, hi friend!! :)