"Oh Blah-Dee, Oh Blah-Dah, Life Goes On"

You know those relationships you have where you don't talk to the person for years, but when you see them it's like you just saw each other the day before. I've been blessed in my life to have a few relationships like that. This past week those very relationships have been so encouraging to my life as I prepare to go overseas.
My roommate from college got in touch with me and told me she'd be in the area on Saturday I was so excited to go see her. I love Blair! We lived together for our last two years of college, and she is just precious to my heart! We've been there for one another through some joyous times, hard times, crazy times, and just through life. I've always loved her family too, so the fact that her parents were with her just added to my excitement. I haven't seen Blair in 2 years (since her wedding), and we talk, but not as often as either of us would like.
Seeing her Saturday was so refreshing! We talked about memories, laughed, joked, and caught up on what's been going on. It was as if we just saw each other. We weren't together for long, but but it was such a time of encouragement! And I'm so thankful to the Lord for letting me see her one last time before leaving!

Blair was in town because one of our friends (her best friend) was getting married. She was telling me she saw a lot of people from college at the wedding. She informed me that our friend, Allison was there. Allison was a friend I was close to especially my Junior and Senior years of college. Her, our friend, Brittany, and myself use to have fun doing nothing but being together. We just had fun no matter what we were doing (whether singing with hair brushes to Kelly Clarkson, dancing like nobody's business, or "stealing" our friend, MaryBeth's car while she chased after us!), and that's all because Allison is CRAZY-fun! So, I got in touch with Allison and found out she is living back in Alabama while her husband (also a friend from college) is overseas.
We made plans to meet on Tuesday. It was so neat to see her! She has two children now (both beautiful babies!) and thanks to her mother-in-law we were able to go grab a bite to eat. THREE HOURS LATER we returned! Our conversation was so sweet, and I miss her friendship so much. I love though that even after 4 years has past and many changes have occurred in both of our lives when we got together we picked up right where we left off...kindred spirits. We had such an encouraging talk about the Lord and how He's worked in our lives. That's one thing I've always cherished about my relationship with Allison; she is just honest, real, and loves to talk about the Lord and His work in her life! We've always shared openly with each other, and she's never failed to speak truth into my life!
I realized that even though I didn't have a label for it, I had GREAT community with these ladies in my college years. We just loved the Lord, loved each other, and had a blast living life together.
Allison said something that just sums it all up. She said, "You know I love that we can get together and it's not weird or like we have to catch up on EVERYTHING since we haven't talked in a while, but it's like we can just pick up where we left off. I think it's like that with believers." And she's so right! Both of these ladies weren't just great friends in college, but they are my sisters. For as long as I go without seeing them (even if it's never again, but we're not banking on THAT!) they will always be dear to my heart because of our relationships in Christ.
This past week held such beautiful times of encouragement to me! And I'm still praising the Lord for it!