I received a wonderful facebook message this morning, as I have every day this week from one of the biggest encouragers I know. I've been blessed with some wonderful friends in my life, and one of the dearest to me is my sister-in-law and precious friend, Debbie. This is a picture of the two of us this summer when she came to visit. I still call her my sister-in-law, although years ago she went through a painful divorce with my brother-in-law, and now I'm going through one myself. However, when we were much younger and met through our connection of each having married into the Dougherty family, we bonded instantly and became lifelong friends, and we both still think of each other as family.
She and I have become each other's biggest encouragers over the years. We had learned we had things in common, and we loved talking about motherhood, arts and crafts, our love of the holidays, and family life together. However, in looking back, I see that our friendship really grew and flourished when she went through a very painful and difficult time. As her marriage began to have problems, we became closer. We corresponded, talked, prayed and cried together. My heart was breaking for her, and I wanted her to know that she was loved and I felt God's urging to really commit to being an encourager and prayer warrior for her. We kept up the closeness even as her marriage sadly ended in a divorce and she became a single mom. With every step she took, whether it was a step forward or a step backward, as so often happens in these storm in life, my respect and love for her grew. I saw a woman who was knocked down by life's events, but who kept getting up and pressing onward. Her faith in God to see her through hard times and His plan for her life amazed me.
As my marriage began to take a very similar path as hers, I looked to her as one of my biggest encouragers. I knew I could share anything with her, that she was a safe shoulder to cry on. Her unconditional love, friendship and support have been one of the biggest blessings in my life.
She and I are comfortable sharing laughter, tears, anger, frustrations, joy....you name it...we share it with one another. We've never lived geographically close except for a very brief period of time in the late 1980s. We've had to work and nurture a long distance friendship. But I'm so thankful that we have chosen to do just that.....I treasure every card, letter, gift, email, facebook message and visit we have shared.
She knows me so well, that she knew when my original hammock broke last summer, that I would be wanting a new one....after all, anyone who knows me, knows that my "hammock time" is where I unwind, where I pray, where I read, where I write, where I feel free to cry when I need to. It's my special spot. Imagine my surprise when I came home from work one day last summer and a large box was on my front porch....with a new hammock ready to be used. Without even seeing a card, I immediately knew who it came from.
Even more than any material gifts we've given back and forth over the years, the gifts of prayer and encouragement are what I treasure the most.
Today I'm grateful for:
1. The encouragers in my life.
2. Friendships that are nurtured and tended to.
3. Debbie.
