Friday Favorites: Internet Friends

I can remember being at the ripe old age of 28 and thinking "I am perfectly good never making another friend. I have all the friends I need and they are fabulous." And while I agree with my past self that my friends are super duper fabulous (basically the best friends any one single person can have) I am so glad that God decided I wasn't finished making friends.

At 28 I hadn't yet started this dive into the world of internet friends. Blogging was still new, smart phones didn't exist and Facebook had just started to take over our lives. A few years later I decided to jump on the blog train and while I'm still waiting for my 15 minutes of blog fame, I am so grateful for the gift of friendship that this world has given me.

I'm reminded time and time again that God brings you people when you need them. Jenn and I met at my dear friend's wedding. Niki had known her right after college and made a point to introduce us at her wedding.

:: Katy - Jenn... Jenn - Katy... y'all are going to be best friends. ::

We exchanged awkward, "Ok, sure" glances... chatted for 12 seconds and went on our way. But then I started to read her blog and she started to read mine. We commented... exchanged cell phone numbers... and the rest is history. I have since met her kiddos, stayed at her home (twice) and spent an entire day in Waco doing nothing but eating, laughing and crying through the ups and arounds of life with her. We pray for each other and we just have the most awesome connection all because of words we typed on a screen.

Shelly and Holly were women behind a screen that, turns out, lived right here. Holly lives less than a mile away from my house. In a crazy twist of fate, we met in real life, exchanged phone numbers and they have become women that I turn to for advice, for laughs, for help, for inappropriate jokes... for whatever life throws at me. They are truth tellers and yay-sayers. They accepted me into their sacred circle of friendship and I am better for it.  These women show up in big and small ways. They reminded me that friendship is worth taking the time for. They don't just say, "let's grab a drink" they make sure it happens. And - they bring me wine, and chocolate and strawberry tarts, which is clearly the signs of a true friendship. They welcome all parts of me in - the good, the bad, the cray cray... and they love me for it. 

I really do have amazing friends. Supportive. Strong. Trustworthy. Loyal. Feisty. Sacred. To think of all the threads of the quilt that makes up my entire story of friendship? Oh my gosh - I can't even begin... 

Yes, friendship is my favorite. So thankful for these in-real-life friends of mine!