where I tell you how I received a huge blessing over lunch...

Something happens when two women {women who have never really shared much of their stories with each other} sit down over a meal and bear their souls.

Something stirs in your heart and it feels like kinship.  Like a comfortable, warm, soothing gulp of bliss.

You see, women, me and all the others, when you boil it all down to just the nitty gritty of our cores, we are all alike.  We all {at one point or another} haven't felt great when we look in the mirror.  And we all worry {maybe about different things} but worry nonetheless.  And some of us {I venture to say a large majority of us} struggle with working and being mamas. 

But when we can sit down with one another, face to face, not through Facebook or email or text message, and dare to be transparent, well, then, something marvelous happens.  Something that resembles true friendship.  Something that resembles togetherness. 

Today, I feel like I gained another friend.  Another woman who is chasing Jesus with all her strength.  Another woman who puts one foot in front of the other, bears down with all the strength she can muster and faces another day.  And she faces it with grace and dignity, all the while praying that Jesus equips her with the strength to keep moving. 

Tonight, I praise Jesus for putting her in my path.  For allowing us to encourage one another over lunch {I don't dare tell you what I ordered, for fear of judgment}.  For giving me another friend who shares in my struggles and experiences and worries.  For showing me areas of specific need in her life that I can pray for. 

Blessed doesn't even begin to cover how I felt when I left lunch this afternoon.  My heart overflows...

'The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.'

Proverbs 27:9