Friends

Friends are a great gift from God.  I know you know that already but I just wanted to remind you.  :)  Recently my friend Debby had a birthday.  I only met her this year when I went back to work and I immediately loved her and knew that we would always be friends.  Oh I know when I quit working in June I won't see her as much but it won't change how I feel.  I love it when God sends people into my life that just fit right into my heart.  For her birthday I made her this table runner:

I loved the sweet pastels of this charm pack (sorry I don't remember the name of the fabric line) and it just sings spring to me.

Another friend who was gifted to me is Betty.  When I moved into this neighborhood I was introduced to Betty by another friend who said, "You have to meet Betty - she's a quilter too."  Quilting just binds women together, don't you think?  We became very good friends and have not only traveled back and forth to quilt guild meetings together, but have also been roommates a couple of years at the retreats.  A couple of years after we met her husband was talking to me about where I grew up and we discovered that when I was 9 years old and they were newlyweds they lived next door to me!  Today Betty's beloved husband, Ross, who made that discovery for us, passed away after a brief illness.  My heart hurts for my friend.

I still have high school friends who come to my house for a weekend every year - the class of 1964!  Oh the laughter we share when we're all here talking about who dated who, what music we played and loved, and the many secrets we share from "back in the day."

I have quilt guild friends who stitch with me and church friends who worship and study with me and blog friends who have stolen my heart and who inspire me to stitch more and to be more creative.  I have friends who are the parents of my children's friends and friends I've met in various women's groups and friends who started out as friends of my sister and gradually became my friend too.

Why in the world am I saying all this?  I'm not sure except I'm very sure that I'm being led to to do so.  Someone out there needs to hear this:  right now, right this minute, think about all those women who have touched your heart over the years and how they've changed you and made you a better woman.  Call one or two of them this week and tell them how much they mean to you.  You'll be glad you did...too often we leave the words unspoken until it is too late.