Cheesy Friendship blog

I've been thinking about this subject a lot lately..for various reasons. And I started thinking about all the people that God's brought into a my life, into different seasons and places of my life, and how seriously blessed I am because of it.

I was especially thinking about my friend Laura. I met her in Thailand..we got connected through a mutual friend..met the second day I was in the country and were inseperable ever since. She was a crazy 29 year old Austrailian who worked with orphans who had HIV. She loved Thailand, she loved Thai people, and she loved me. She took me under her wing and taught me so much about friendship, life, and most importantly where the good food in Chiang Mai was. The best lesson I ever learned from her was when you get to that point where Thai food is annoying(yes it does happen), and Thai people are annoying(even more likely)...get the spiciest Thai dish imaginable and eat it. Seriously worked everytime....when the last thing you wanted to eat was Thai...you loaded up your noodle soup with gallons of red pepper...don't know why, but it did wonders.

She lived near me, on the outskirts of the city..just down the major highway..7 minutes on a motorbike. There were so many nights at like 10pm when my girls were all asleep and my house was finally quiet that I would get on my motorbike and drive down to her house. We'd sit on her front porch talking for hours about life stuff and God stuff. She pulled me through many nights when I'd arrive crying out of frustration with my ministry... and then I'd sleep there, knowing it was going to be fine in the morning. I had a mattress all my own at her place..and the last two months I basically moved in...to the point where I started talking like her..my accent was so bizzarre when I finally got back to the states:)

All that to say, I was just some crazy 21 year girl who had no idea was she was doing, and never understood why someone would choose to love me so much and be my friend. Laura was a crazy 29 year old woman who shared with me her life and I honestly don't know where I'd be today without her.

I've been thinking about these kind of friendships over these last several days. It's these kinds of friendships that have changed my life, and are currently changing my life. It's these kinds of friendships that bring so much joy but also so much pain. But the pain is worth it..it is..and its going to happen. The deep intimacy of sharing life with someone invites the good times along with the bad..its inevitable. I've learned so much about myself, God, and relationships through these times.

And so I'm thankful...nothing but thankful..