Happy Wednesday, church family!

In the first few weeks we lived on the Central Coast, Dave went away for work, and my parents, the only people we knew here, were on vacation. Parenting solo with a toddler and infant, and feeling quite alone, I decided to do something “normal” for LA: go to the mall. In Santa Maria. (If you’ve been to that mall, you’re probably already laughing.) 15 minutes after arriving, having walked the entire facility, past empty storefronts and quiet concourse, I called Dave, in tears. “That was it! Even the mall is lonely!”

When we lived in LA, we had a good, solid group of friends. We’d been through life and death, and everything in between. Then we moved to the Central Coast, a place we only knew my parents. I was frustrated with the selection of potential friends. No one seemed to “click” for me. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to find the level of friendship that I’d had in LA. Listening to Naomi’s story in Ruth, I really resonated with the bitterness she felt moving back to her homeland (except I was in a new place). I found myself bitter that life just kept going for everyone I’d left in LA, and here I was, alone in a new place, trying to find just a single friend. 

Little did I know, that like with Naomi, God was working in small ways, and I just needed to be patient. The first lesson He taught me was that the reason I had such amazing friends in LA was that we had been through so much together. We were vulnerable, shared, listened, and protected one another. I had been expecting someone to come into my new life at a level 10, even though I only knew them at a level 1. Long story short, God showed me what it looked like to start over, and provided a million little miracles along the way. He put new friends in my path, and I began to slowly deepen relationships with them. Three years later, my mom was hospitalized for the first time. It was then that I realized that He had worked in His perfect timing, to provide me with friends who were there to support me, encourage me, pray for me, and help take care of my girls. 

Jesus, thank You for redeeming me from my bitterness and loneliness. Thank You for the new friends you put in my life to go through some of the roughest years I’ve been through, and to come out of that experience at a level 10. Thank You for each one of my friends, the stories they shared with me, the little decisions they each made that would grow our friendship. I choose hope, patience, and trust in Your plans for me, today and every day. Bless and seal these good things, in Your name, amen. 

May your week be blessed, 

Lisa