Friendly Friday

Friday was far too overloaded for me to even attempt any writing of the sort. So, here is the overdue introduction of another dear friend.

Nicole.

I’m not sure if she spoke it first or it was simply implied by her life but my first memory of Nicole is her saying verbally or with body language “I’m married with 5 kids so don’t be offended if I don’t pursue this friendship with you.”


That was a year ago and Nicole and I are great friends. I made it a priority to intrude on her life by my random popovers and she made it a priority to let me.


She is one of the most real people I know. And I LOVE her for it. I think more than I want to admit of my life was spent thinking healthy marriages and families were picture perfect; spotless homes, immediately obedient children who respectfully disappear during adult conversation, and everything somehow always working out for the benefit of the family, and it was easy most of the time. What planet was I living on?! Then entered Nicole, who was open enough to share her real life with me, messy counters and all.

That’s where our friendship lived for the vast majority of this year, the counter. I would come in and she would always be preparing something for the kiddos or cleaning up the tornado of a mess they’d left behind. We talked about marriage, kids, singleness, God, hopes, dreams, decorating ventures, and the future over a cup of coffee and some delicious something she’d cooked up. By about the 4 month mark there was no stone unturned. She was completely vulnerable about her life which led me to share with her.

It was bound to be a special friendship from the start. We met at church retreat, where I was desperate for deep friendships in a new place and she was seeking a moment away from her children. Our paths met at just the right time and we had the opportunity over one weekend to spark a friendship. Over the course of the year we have discovered just how God ordained our friendship really is. We are so much alike, in ways only God could have paired. She is such a patient, opinionated, “free spirit”, woman, wife, mother, and friend.

What a great friendship that has grown in just a short 12 months. She has seen me in all my ugliness and depression and I have seen her in the throws of raising 5 children and maintaining a marriage and home. It’s not always pretty but it’s her and it’s real.

I so appreciate you my friend!