Love.

I wish you could meet my friend, Emma. There's is no seventeen year old woman that I admire and respect more than her. She's talented, hilarious, and serious about the time she spends with Jesus. She has a gorgeous smile, an adorable laugh, and dark, mocha eyes. She volunteers at the hospital once a week, and cherishes her family time. She thinks about others first, and has an eye for photography. We both have a thing for a great love story, babies, and hearing of God's faithfulness. My dear friend is traveling the world this week. She's in Paris right now, then headed to Israel. Jealous, much? haha. But as she is gone, I am able to pray more intently for her, and reflect on the great gift she is. Recently, I was thinking about a time when sweet Emma showed me what unconditional love looks like at its best... sit down for a bit. Let me brag about my sister :)

I've decided the weight of a mistake never feels heavier than when I'm trying to sleep at night. Sometimes it's an uncomfortable heavy... as if I ate way too much at a restaurant. Other times it's like my comforter is made of concrete, like my mind is a surround-sound theater that keeps playing the words I shouldn't have said or the moment I talked myself into doing something I knew I shouldn't have done.
It was a night like that, when all the thoughts in my head seemed as loud as thundering skies over the house. Luckily, it was summer. No school to wake up to come morning, no agenda for the following day... so I got up. I grabbed my phone and went outside. It was dark, but we were at the lake... the water was calming and the bugs were somehow reassuring. I called Emma. We attempted small talk. I even told her about the amazing day I had the day before. Finally, I knew something needed to be said. The unspoken barrier (that was caused 100% by me) between us just couldn't be there anymore. I sat down in a chair outside, and watched the few lone pieces of grass sway and struggle as I stumbled over my words. I'm pretty sure I didn't even take a breath until I was done talking. When I finally finished and Emma's words followed, in that moment I realized another one of the million things I love about her~ There's nothing judgmental about the way she loves. We talked and laughed for a while, and then Emma asked me if I wanted to pray. In my groggy I'm-finally-exhausted-voice, I agreed with a full, peaceful heart. That evening, we were on our knees side by side yet hundreds of miles away, praising God for who He was. Emma talks to Jesus with an uncanny sense of reverence and love. There is sweetness mixed with her respect, and as I listened as she prayed for me, my mom and my dad in serious detail. Everything I had ranted about for weeks, my best friend was lifting up in prayer. It doesn't take a genius, or even a night owl, to see Emma genuinely loves meeting with God... and she genuinely, unconditionally loves her family and friends. Accountability and transparency with another person can replace a constant freaked-out feeling with complete peace.
When I was doing my devotions today, all I could think about was praying with my dear friend that hot and muggy June night almost a year ago. I hope you have someone in your life like that, too. If there's something happening in your world, or something that has happened that makes your heart feel like a brick inside your chest when you try to sleep at night, it's good to talk through those issues.
James 5:16 says we should be confessing our sins to one another and praying for each other. In Titus 2, Paul talks about how important it is for women to mentor other women. I've been blessed by some wonderful women who pour into my life on a regular basis.
The more you grow, the more you should be intentional about pouring love into other people's lives. It's wonderful to realize you aren't alone in any season of your life. Sometimes just knowing someone will listen and pray with you gives you the push you need to keep moving. For what it's worth, Emma and I pray for YOU, too. Yes, you. Sometimes I just say a name or a situation, and we pray fervently before our ever-so-gracious God. We pray for the ways you're growing, the decisions you're making, and your relationships. We're always thanking God for you and the way you're turning this world upside down with His love.
In fact, today I am thankful for love. I'm thankful for love that's brighter and more beautiful than spring days and more peaceful than April showers. I'm thanking Him for that perfect, unconditional love that offers new starts and forgiveness and peaceful sleep when my mind is restless. I'm SO thankful I get to see that love in my sister, my friend, Emma. I'm thankful that together we get to walk this road with Jesus and watch Him move and work and breathe life into our friends.

I am praying today that I can make someone feel as safe and loved as she always makes me feel.

I love you, Emmy. I'm thinking of you while you are gone, and am so thankful for you who are :)

Hugs and kisses,
Lyss