During this pregnancy, I have carried the weight of feeling lonely and alone. Not through anyone’s fault or anything in particular. No, it’s just been the sore spot the enemy has chosen to pick at.
Then.
Then the Lord shows up with abundance and shouts so clearly through the actions of others that I am most certainly loved and surrounded. Friends have been His hands in profound ways in the last weeks, reminding me what it means to love and serve.
Being a friend means celebrating together. Making space for another. Sometimes that means planning an outing that involves pedicures and lunch and sharing the hard and the good about motherhood and giggling over name choices.
Being a friend means meeting someone in their mess and loving them with what you’ve got despite their crap. That looks like a pregnant friend scrubbing your bathroom with a toothbrush because “You deserve sparkling bathrooms!” and that same friend still being willing to talk to you and laugh with you at the end of the night.
Being a friend means praying with and for each other. It is the physical joy and laughter that Mary and Elizabeth shared over their pregnancies and the deeper, soul-stirring, heart-swelling spiritual joy of shared praise. It’s the vulnerability of having your feet washed and the humility and servant heart it takes to be the washer. It’s finding a safe place to share stories of miscarriage and loss in the midst of the joyful anticipation of birth. Friendship is a private concert in a comfortable home. It’s many hands filling the car with flowers that smell of spring, diapers for a babe that will grow far too fast and lovely, thoughtful gifts.
Being a friend means sending texts that let the other know they’re not far from your mind. It’s ice cream delivered to your door by friends who don’t live in town but want to “boost morale.” Friendship is generously picking up kids and taking them to mass or class or lunch or lessons and loving them in the process. It’s encouraging and empathetic smiles as you walk/waddle back to your pew post communion.
Yes, friends have been so abundant and generous and I have been left speechless and teary eyed at the way the Lord has blessed me through them. And if you’re one of those friends, thank you. For loving me, my family, and this baby we’ve yet to meet. You have shown me God’s merciful love in so many ways and have swept the loneliness right out of my heart. So glad you’re my tribe.
