Good Friends

This picture is two of my cats. Nacho is the black one. He is about a year old. Malley is the gray one. She is about 6 months old. They are friends. He is reserved. She is rambunctious. 

This picture reminds me of my two good friends, Valerie and Michelle. You may be laughing and wondering which one is Valerie and which one is Michelle. The truth is the picture reminds me of the symbolism of our friendships.

Valerie is tall and beautiful. Michelle is short and pretty. I am, medium height and have a lot of gray hair. We do not look alike, but we have bonds that bind us together.

First of all, we are moms. We have 7 kids between us. They love my kids and I love their kids. They are part of my family even though we do not live under the same roof. I feed them. I take them where they need to be. I encourage them. I scold them. But, most importantly, I love them. My life would not be the same if I did not have all of these kids in it. 

Second, we support each other. We chop lettuce for each other when a party is taking place last minute. We run to the store and get sour cream when one of us forgot it. We provide back-up for each other. We give and receive small gifts of encouragement. We listen to each other's concerns. We talk about challenges, problems, and things that annoy us. We talk about the good stuff, like the sports our kids are doing, the activities that keep us busy, and chance to sit and eat chips and salsa. We talk about God. We share our lives. 

Third, we accept each other as we are. Whether short, or tall, or somewhere in between, we respect each other. Whether reserved or rambunctious, we love each other. 

It reminds me of a verse from the Bible.
Romans 15:7 - Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

We accept each other, just as God has accepted us. We accept and even celebrate our differences, our flaws, our achievements, our friendship. I am so thankful that God provided these two women that I call friends. They make my life better.