Here's to You

If you are reading this, I probably call you friend. In fact, if you are reading this there's a good chance I call you my OP friend! :)

Nicky was telling me a story last night about something that recently happened to her. I said "where were your friends?" (One of which was sitting at the table with us while she told me the story). She said "She was gone. I don't know I was just sitting by myself that day." To which I replied "Well then it's your fault for being friendless...because that's what friends are for. They would have told you so you wouldn't have gone all day like that."

Before you think I'm the worst mom in the world, it was said tongue in cheek and yet, Nicky also knows that I do feel it's important to be a good friend and to have good friends. However, until OP, I believed I could make do with just one or two friends.

The core to Christianity is relationships. Our relationship with Christ, obviously. But also our relationship with others. We learn more about Christ through our relationships with each other. I had to learn both how to be a friend and receive friendship at different levels before I could understand how God uses relationships (all kinds) to impact His kingdom. You guys did that for me. Each person at OP had an important role in my life. In understanding people, relationships and growing spiritually. So today is my personal "Thank an OP friend" day.

Thank you all for the role you played and hopefully will continue to play in my life for years to come. I miss seeing you all each week, I miss the interaction and the acceptance of who I am 100%. You accepted my ups and downs and everything in between. When I shared a weakness, you wrapped your arms around me either literally or figuratively with words and said it was ok to be weak. You showed me strengths that I was unaware of, and blessed me with sharing just as much of yourselves with me as I shared with you. You opened your homes and your hearts to me and my family. I know nothing anywhere will ever have the same effect on us, but I also know that we are better people and able to do that for others because of what you did for us, and the best thing is, I know you do it for everyone. You did it without thinking, without calculation. You "loved us like Jesus". Because of that healing started in our lives and we were able to be more open to Jesus. Thank you doesn't begin to cover the lasting affect you had on us-each of us. My kids still remember the home groups we participated in, the times we hung out with friends and played games. They remember the holiday cook outs and that foundation that they were given to see how "loving like Jesus" works is the foundation that their life is being built on. We could not have done that without you. So, I am grateful to God for sending us to you and grateful to you all for being you! :)

Thank you-all. :)