Friends...

Have you ever had one of "those" days???  Where you are counting down to the end of it???  Well...I have.  And I'm pretty sure you probably have too.  I recently decided that when I was having one of "those" evenings...the one where you want to pull your hair out before dinner time and count down by the minutes until bed time...that surely I wasn't the only one.  Surely there is another Mommy out there wanting to pull her hair out too!  So...I started texting a Mommy friend.  It looked something like this...

Me:  Hey!  How's it going at your house???

Friend:  Ummm...it is going.

Me:  Does that mean your afternoon is as good as mine???

Friend:  Do you want to pull your hair out?

Me:  Why yes...as a matter of fact...I do!

Friend:  I love my life.  I love my children.  Why do I want to pull my hair out?

Me:  Because you're human.  :)  Wanna do dinner together?

Friend:  YES!!!

Me:  Come on over!  

Friend:  See you in a few.

And it hit me!  I am human too - just like my friend.  If I tell HER it is pretty much "normal" to feel stressed...then it is "normal" for me too!  It is OK to get stressed and have a hard time from 3-6pm...this is a tough time of day!  And THIS, my friends, is why God blesses us with friends!  He doesn't make us go at this alone!  He not only gives us a husband, but he gives us friends too!  The afternoon and evening completely changed when we did it together!  Our kids got to play and we got to chat.  We got to blow off a little steam, and we were both a little more clear minded and able to appreciate life a little more when we parted ways.

What a blessing my friends have been in my life!!!  Not only do we rescue each other from rough afternoons...but we get to do life together!  

We celebrate together!

Cry together.

Laugh together.

We can be ourselves.

We can be quiet together. (this is my new favorite.  lol)

We can be loud.

God has put exactly the right friends in our lives.  Some come and go - they served a very important purpose while they were here.  Some will be close for the rest of our lives.  It truly is amazing how God plans out the timing and people he blesses us with.

-Courtney Willis

Courtney is wife to Firefighter/Paramedic Josh.  Mommy to beautiful, strong-willed,, full of life, biological Gracie and handsome, rough n tough, sweet, adopted from Uganda Owen.  She has a passion for family, orphan care, photography, Africa, and writing.  She reminds herself daily to live one day at a time and is determined to get used to her new status as “stay at home Mom”.  She thinks life is best lived with a good sense of humor and daily time with God in prayer.  To check out what she is up to lately, visit restoration517.wordpress.com or missionregan.org.