rescued.

In 1997 (WHOOPS! Now I think I'm younger than I am... it was 1987!) I moved from Los Angeles County suburbia to a hick town in Riverside County, CA. I was fifteen and in September I started my 10th grade year in a new school. It was the first move I had made since I was a toddler, and I was not taking it well. Each day I would sit on the planterbox outside of the lunch area and eat my lunch all by myself and cry. I would pray for a friend, just one. I missed my old school, my old friends, my old mall.

Little did I know that at about the same time, a girl named Brandy sat with her mother, praying for a friend too. It seems new girls don't have a corner on the 'lonely teenage girl' syndrome. Bran & I headed to school the next day and the rest, as they say, is history.
We celebrated my 16th birthday together that year, exchanging those sacred best friend necklaces- remember those? She had the half that said Be Fri... I had the st ends portion.She was in my wedding, and I in hers. Together we had many, many adventures and she has remained a lifetime dear friend to me.

Brandy has grown to be an incredible Christian lady. She is an amazing mother and a fantastic friend. Ever have one of those friends who can do anything? That's my BeFri, Brandy. She is intelligent, creative, and funny. She can sew, dance, do accents, cook, play the guitar, and sing like nobody's business.

This weekend, she drove all the way down to come do worship for our children's ministry quarterly volunteer meeting. I was so excited to share her with the volunteers- to give them a chance to experience the gift of being led in worship by a girl who loves Jesus with her whole self. They, of course, loved her. Today I heard several compliments about her talent and beautiful spirit. I, of course, could not even introduce her without crying. I wish I could think of a word that described the feeling. Proud doesn't seem right... but nothing else even comes close. Love? Connection? Inspiration? I suppose it was the overwhelming feeling of God's hand in our lives. The little peek into the fact that our Lord knew just what He was doing as He mapped out our lives. That He knew that Brandy would be there that day singing beautifully even before the day we decided to stay up all night (and Brandy crimped her elbow with the geometrix tool from yesterday's post!!!) even before we met that day in the gym, even before that day we prayed for a friend, even before He created the foundation of the earth. Oh, what a blessing it is to have friends, isn't it? Its the rare person you find that makes you want to be closer to God just by knowing them- and Brandy, well- she's that girl for me.

There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother
Proverbs 18:24 (nlt)