Friends...

Besides my husband, I have two best friends. Well, we're more like sisters. I feel like I have more than my share, more than I deserve...b/c they are so amazing. That's them in the picture above at the baby shower they hosted for Blakely (hence my very pregnant face!). Desha (pronounced with a long "a" like Desha County - where her mom grew up) is on the left. I've known her since I was 12, and Blakely is named after her (1st names are Laura.) People usually think we're really sisters, b/c we're so much alike...we joke that it could be true since she is adopted. My friendship with Desha is amazing, and definitely worth sharing, but not today.

Today, I want to tell you about my friend Jessica. She (obviously) is the one in the green. Most of you, if any, don't know her. You may know her brother-in-law and sister, Adam & Carol (Buck) DePriest. They both went to OBU - funny that I never met Carol until after I knew Jessica. Anyway...I met Jessica in 2002, not long after me and Chris got married. We immediately had a lot to talk about with her husband, David, since he was a Red Shirt at Ouachita. But once the OBU talk ran out, we didn't have much in common with either of them. Boy has that changed!

Jessica and I are pretty much opposites. If you read personality books, they say that with our personality types, Jess and I shouldn't even be friends. They were right at first. We got along okay, but I would've called us acquaintances. Until I had Alyssa...Jess had just had her first son, Daniel, 10 months before. Isn't it amazing how such tiny little people can bring adults together? We started to bond through them slowly. Several different sets of circumstances brought us even closer over time until I couldn't imagine my life without her. She has taught me, by her example, how to serve others completely unselfishly and wholeheartedly. Something that I still struggle with...not that I don't want to serve others, it just takes more effort than I believe it should. She loves people...and is completely loyal. And so creative...which is good since I'm not. I usually steal my cute ideas from her. She's amazing and strong and stable. She's the reason that I've become friends with other people in my life that have different personalities than me, like Meredith Eisele...they remind me a lot of each other. I've literally thanked Jessica for giving me a new friend in Meredith - even though they don't know one another. Jessica's strengths are my weaknesses, and God makes me a better person b/c of her.

Jessica lost her mom today. And I'm devastated for her. It is so my personality to try to fix things for those that I love. But I can't fix this. I can hug her and cook for her and take care of her precious 2 boys and love her and pray for her, but I can't fix it. It's hard for me to watch her go through this. But all I can think about is that through this entire time with her mom (several months) she has still cared about every little thing going on in my life. When in comparison to her life, in the season she's in now, my life is perfect. She still cares for and loves me and wants to know what she can do for me. She is amazing...so thru every step of the way through this, I'm going to do for Jess what I know she'll one day do for me when I lose a parent...Be there...

So, please pray for Jessica's family...for peace and comfort and for the 4 sweet grandbabies Mrs. Lee has left behind, and the words for me and Desha to have as we go thru this together with our sister.