Friendship-in-Love

"Guys... I have been thinking about you all week. I am friendship-in-love with you!" is what my best friend said out of a revelation she had after going a few days without seeing us.

 God has been truly amazing by blessing me with such special friends. After moving here permanently with Jason at the end of 2007 to Oregon, I felt a huge hole. Leaving my family and best friends in southern California wasn't easy. It only took a couple months for it to really hit me that no one but my husband really knew me. Yikes. I couldn't have made it the first year being married and living in Oregon without, of course, my amazing husband and my new family, the Wortmans. They are truly God's gift to me. What an amazing family that I married into! It's been two and a half years now since Jason and I have been married and living in Oregon. Crazy how time flies! God has confirmed that Oregon is my home. He has given me a heart for the Portland area and has given me a new family... And just because God is so amazing, He has rekindled old friendships and has made them closer than ever! 






Melissa and I grew up together after her mom 
had practically brought her to our doorstep, looking for a babysitter. My mom accepted the "babysitting offer" and that is when we were forced to become best friends... Okay, not really, because I really do love Melissa, but really. If it weren't for My Aunt Mary's boldness, we may not have even known the other existed! Our parents became close friends and we did too. So close, in fact we call each other's parents, Aunt and Uncle. Melissa's family moved from our neighborhood when we were 4, but we still kept in contact via snail mail. She was my first "pen pal". Fast forward 17 years to Jason and I's wedding day. Melissa was of course in my wedding, and meets a certain gentleman, Justin Nichols (one of Jason's best men). Jason and I move to Oregon immediately after our wedding, and a year later Melissa follows :) She and Justin fall in love and are getting married this summer! Jason and I have grown close to the couple and marvel at how God set the whole thing up.

Then there is the amazing Sarah. Sarah and I met in high school, and immediately clicked. Her passion for God, life and music inspired and attracted me to her. After high school, I hadn't heard from or seen her in a while. I had gone on a DTS with YWAM in New Zealand, and shortly after I came back, she left to do the same thing in Mexico. 2 years later, we reconnected! Sarah was also part of my wedding, using her beautiful voice and talent for strumming the guitar during our ceremony. About 2 years later, after much prayer, she felt like God was leading her to move up to Oregon too. I would have NEVER thought that we would both wind up in Oregon, pursuing our passions and sharing our lives together! 

I am truly thankful for such amazing friends! We have all become close friends who pray for each other, keep one another accountable, share with and do life with. You know we have gotten close when just a couple days go by and we miss each other. We are friends. We are community. We are family. We are "friendship-in-love".