Texting Buddies

My last few posts have been on the more serious, deep side, so I thought I’d write on something that was a blessing during my battle with depression.

Over the last 9 years, I have truly understood the importance of friendship. Chad and I have been blessed immensely with close friendships since our years at Lake Superior State University. We have friends from high school and college that we still keep in touch with today.We have met new friends at work and church, who we enjoy spending time with and are a great source of encouragement. We have friends from different family backgrounds, different political views, different religious beliefs, and different age groups.

Personally, I have a few close friends who know a lot about me, who I can call and ask for prayer for a particular hardship, or who I can sit down and simply enjoy a cup of coffee with. One of those friends is Carrie. Many of you may recognize her as the one who pairs up with Jennie on Facebook in order to keep Chad humble. 🙂 Carrie and I have known each other since our years at LSSU, but have developed a close friendship over the last 7 years.

Carrie is a friend like no other. We can talk about serious issues like children, motherhood, marriage, and spiritual growth, and then a half an hour later, she’ll send me a text or an email teasing me about my animosity towards Hooters Restaurant. Her husband wrote a post about her on their blog He Says, She Says, and it’s a great description of who she truly is. She does bring out the best in everyone, and has a genuine interest in people. I am not a natural people person. I am much better at making lists and completing tasks. She has definitely been an example to me of the importance of placing relationships over tasks.

As our friendship grew, Carrie has become my number one confidante. Chad has given me permission to talk with her about anything, including him. He knows the need I have for “getting it all out” and trusts Carrie’s judgement and character. Over one particular phone conversation I was telling her about an argument Chad and I had, and she asked if I wanted honesty or just a listening ear. I replied honesty and she told me I needed to apologize to him! Of course I knew she was right but did not want to admit that at all. 🙂

Carrie is a friend I will have forever. We text each other all the time, but can go days without talking and it’s not a big deal. We both understand that we have families, church responsibilities, school work, and husbands we want to spend time with. I really appreciate that about her. There’ s no pressure to spend a certain amount of time with her or talk to her every single day, even though I usually do. I can be myself and she accepts me for who I am.

When I was in the deepest depression, she would help keep things in perspective for me. I have told her feelings, emotions, and thoughts that I have told no one else, except Chad. You know that saying, “A friend is someone who knows all about you, but still loves you anyway”? That’s exactly what she is.

God has definitely blessed me with Carrie’s friendship. I pray that you have a friend like her that you can confide in, trust in, laugh with, pray with, receive encouragement from, and be honest with you. Thank you Carrie for knowing all about me but loving me anyway. And thank you to our husbands, Ryan and Chad, for making sure we both have unlimited texting plans. 😉