Titus 2 Tuesday

Oops. I'm late...but I've committed to actually doing this weekly, so in this case it's going to have to be better late than never :0)
So here's the usual question: What have learned from another woman this week? (or ever).
Go here to participate!

This week I'm choosing to honor my friend Angie. Angie and I met when we got to middle school, and I'll never forget that one of the first things she ever told me was that I shared a birthday with Reba McEntire. She was much more excited about this little fact than I was, but still it paved the way to a tentative and then genuine friendship.

By the time we were in high school we were "thick as thieves" as my parents would say. We wrote stories to pass the time away in classes such as chemistry, watched Veggie Tales during our peer facilitating class (hey, we were learning valuable lessons in order to help those kids we were working with...right?), and crossed the bridge together to go to the parking lot each day when the bell rang.

Angie and I had a lot of fun together, but our lunchtimes were probably my favorite part of the day. It was then we would discuss our very limited understanding of faith and how it affected our daily walk. We were so young and naive, and our journeys were just beginning, but we "got" that it was about God...in some form or fashion. I was fortunate to have a high school friend with which to discuss the things that are underneath all that surface stuff most of us are focused on in high school.

After I graduated and moved to TN for college we kind of fell out of touch for awhile. Neither meant for it to happen, but we both got busy... During this time we each journeyed deeper into faith and understanding what that really meant. It's amazing what life experiences will do to you, ya know?

A couple/three years ago we reconnected...amazingly enough through myspace and facebook first. Since then she's come to stay with me for a few days in Nashville, and I get together with her every time I make it to my hometown in Indiana. We send messages, texts, and occasionally a phone call (although neither of us is in love with the phone). It's kind of funny how we have parallel lives in so many ways--for example, right now we've been dating wonderful men for about the same amount of time (they're a little ahead of us) and we've had SO much to talk about regarding that. It has been SUCH a blessing to me to pick up where we left off and to be able to still talk about what's real with my dear friend.

Angie (left) and me

She's an amazing woman with a beautiful heart and who never fails to make me smile. We still don't talk as often as either of us would like, but we connect often (oooh, way to work in the word of the month, Lora!). I've learned from her how to laugh at myself and not take myself seriously, how to have REAL conversations, and how to maintain relationships across the miles.

So I am thankful for the chance to be real, to talk about faith, and to have a friend to journey with me. I'm thankful to have Angie in my life.