Funny story.
Classes started on Monday and the snow came on Tuesday. The south was only supposed to get a “light dusting” and then inches came down. Roads have been shut down, teachers and commuters and children stuck at schools, and everything has been at a stand still.
Just today the Samford teachers were able to leave campus and head home.
Almost every student has walked to Target to grab bread and snacks and water – and also because being cooped up for three (going on four) days gets a little boring.
But on the plus side? I get to join you all again tonight and I’m so thankful! These days off have been a gift for me. Time to relax with friends, movie nights, lazy mornings in pajamas, and best of all – seeing snow for the first time!
It wasn’t anyone’s plan and it can’t be scratched off a to-do list, but it has been a gift for my heart this week.
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There are these girls, these beautiful souls that I get to call family. They’ve rallied around and lifted up, carried me far and stopped to slow down and listen. They’ve taken the time to know and love my heart.
It wasn’t always this way and it isn’t always so perfectly beautiful, but God has used them to shape me into the person I’ve become.
There’s this girl and she shines Jesus so bright sometimes I just stop and stare. I want to be like her when I grow up. She’s humble and laughs a lot because joy seeps right out. She’s kind and thoughtful and when she says she’s going to pray for you, she really does. We can talk for hours and never run out of things to say. Jesus rolls off her tongue just as much as anything else, and from our very first conversation I saw her passion for the Lord. That isn’t so common, and it struck me that she isn’t ashamed. She just lives what she believes and I want to know Him more because of her.
There’s this girl and she’s the funniest person I’ve ever met, yet she doesn’t see it. She spills out wisdom and is the first person to be there in every situation. She would drop anything to help someone out. I’ve watched her walk through ups and downs and been so encouraged by her solid, unwavering trust in the Lord. She says I encourage her but she’s got it all wrong because she’s the example. I want to be more generous, more thoughtful and solid in what I believe because of her.
There’s this girl and she’s like finding another version of me in a crowd of strangers. I know we only met this year but it’s like she’s been there for every bit of my life. I’ve never met someone so like me and sometimes it scares me because boy, do I come with my own issues. But she’s solid and sure in Him, crazy funny and one of the kindest souls you’ll ever meet. She loves well and laughs a lot and just simply brightens my day every time I see her. She’s home to me. She has one of the most compassionate hearts and although we’re so alike now, when we’re older I want to be more like her because she’s certainly the better half.
There’s this girl who would give anything to help someone else, whether she knows them or not. She’ll wake up at the crack of dawn to check things off of someone else’s to-do list and she won’t tell a soul. I’ve watched her give when nothing was asked for and make time for what’s important when I know there are other things she could be doing. She’s funny and a little bit sassy and even though we’re states away, words slip out of my mouth and then my hand flies up against my lips as I realize I’ve started to become this woman, my mother, and I’m perfectly okay with that.
Years ago I rejected the idea that love could exist. I was sure I would never trust again and didn’t even know if He could glue my heart back together. I was so broken that some days the simple act of breathing hurt my chest. I was done with community. It was as good as dead to me.
But God brought just the right people at just the right time and slowly I began to allow myself to trust again. Piece by piece He put my heart back together and then He helped me offer those pieces to these girls, trusting in love once again, while knowing this time that He is the ultimate Love and my trust is sure in Him.
I’ve said it before, but all of these “she’s” are different women in my life who have poured out and poured in, through the thick and thin of smiling joy or tears falling. They stick up and listen close and speak truth loud.
In all their ordinary, they are my extraordinary heroes.
There are no capes or sidekicks or super cool cars, just a bunch of girlfriends and my mom and a whole lot of ordinary days that have become treasures to me.
They sing my song back to me when I’ve forgotten. They live out my favorite verse and have loved me much and loved me well and one day, I want to be just like them. These, these are my heroes.
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