I’ve been blogging a while now…since November 2007…over 1,900 posts.
I started blogging about a year after I learned to knit.
This timing is important, you see, because not too long after I learned to knit, I met my friend, Christina.
She’s known as Rabbitrescuer in the knitting world.
She, too, has a blog, but she doesn’t write prolifically like I do.
She has a real life, you see.
We met in an interesting way. Please forgive me if I’ve shared this before (just try to remember everything you’ve written in 1,900 posts).
After I taught myself to knit, I joined KnittingHelp.com. It’s a wonderful social site for knitters. The members are fantastic, sweet, and very helpful.
The site used to keep a chat room open, and, at the time, I had a part-time job, was back in college, and raising my children.
I loved to chat with my knitting friends.
We’d talk about what we were knitting, our issues with our children, and the yarn we were spending too much money on.
Christina was forever buying yarn, and I’ll admit that I was green with envy.
She worked long hours…the night shift…at an emergency animal clinic…and I often told her I’d pray for her.
It’s funny how those little words would make a difference in our lives.
About a year after we’d been chatting, keeping things uber safe, you know…no last names, children’s names, etc., I got a message from her asking me to pray for her oldest son. He was burned very badly…about 70% of his body…and was taken to a Shriner’s Hospital for treatment.
She asked me to pray for him.
That’s when I called her and heard her voice for the first time.
It was awkward, but I wanted her to know I was there for her…for real.
Thus began our IRL (in real life) friendship.
I called her almost week day to help distract her from the stresses she was facing daily…her son’s fight to live…his many, many surgeries. Her husband visited the hospital on the weekends, so I didn’t call then so I wouldn’t intrude.
Her son stayed in the hospital three or four months.
It was a long time for us to chat, and our friendship deepened.
We have continued our phone conversations ever since, sometimes staying on the phone for an hour or more at a time.
We routinely text each other and are friends on other social networks.
She’s my bestie, even though I’ve never met her face-to-face.
She’s listened to me cry over my family woes, my job hunting disappointments, and my stressful teaching moments.
She’s celebrated my joys as well.
I’ve done the same for her.
We kick each other in the rear when the other one needs it (pull up your big girl pants and deal), which we both know is offered in love.
Through highs and lows, we have been there for each other.
People always draw back in surprise when I try to describe this friendship, taken aback by the way it came about, but God’s hand has been in it. This is quite evident.
Even more so of late.
I received a text from Christina last week, only a few short hours after we’d had one of our marathon chat sessions on one of my snow days.
Her text told me that her husband has cancer, and that it’s spread all over his body.
What they thought was a cyst has turned out to be melanoma…a disease he’s received treatment for in the past and been in remission from for a number of years.
He was given a prognosis of one or two years with treatment.
He begins radiation on Monday.
Oh my, but I couldn’t let this go with a text, so I called her.
Needless to say, her heart is completely broken right now.
My heart hurts for her, Allen, her husband, and her boys.
I sat at my computer and cried after we hung up the phone.
I feel helpless, powerless to really do anything of use for her.
I was gently reminded that I can do something…the thing that drew us together in the first place.
I can pray.
Will you join me in praying for Allen as he goes through a long treatment?
Will you pray for Christina and the boys as they, too, come to terms with this prognosis.
We serve a mighty God, and who knows the miracles He has yet to perform!
It is my prayer that Christina’s family will feel themselves drawn in closer to God as He surrounds them with His steady arms that will carry them through the uncertain future that lies ahead.
I love you, my sweet friend. You are like a sister to me. I’m here for you!
I pray that you trust in the Lord no matter what’s ahead!
Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: friendship | 4 Comments »
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