A Love Letter

I was reflecting on this new year and the past one and realizing what I wanted to do most was send a love letter to my friends, and as you all get enough mass emails from me, I thought I would place it here...

To friends that I have known since I was a child, to friends that are brand new, thank you for filling my heart so full that I have no excuse to not say every day that my cup runeth over. Thank you for out of the blue phone calls, sweet uplifting emails, and hugs that fill my love tank. Thank you to the friend that wouldn't let me be alone on a night that I didn't need to be alone, to the friend that brought over dinner and just sat quietly with me, thank you to the friends that turned their car around and drove from Duluth when I delivered shocking news over the phone. Thank you to friends that challenged me and friends that gave silent support and unwaivering confidence. Thank you to the friend that talked until the wee hours of the morning, thank you to the friend that let me vent, to the friend that made me feel a part of the group, to the one that thought of me and treated me to a special night, to the friend that prayed for me without my asking. Thank you to the friend that understood a late night fashion emergency, who understood embrassment, humiliation and pride coming before the fall, to friends who cried so that I wouldn't be crying alone, to friends that became weekend roomies, thank you to the ones that exposed me to new music, food, restaurants, shops, books, verses and viewpoints. Thank you to the friends that let me get deliriously excited and laughed with me until I eventually started hiccupping. Thank you to friends that I could spend long meals talking about absolutely nothing and everything all at once, to friends who saw my ugliest sides and loved me anyway, to the friend that wanted me there in the doctor's exam room at their most vulnerable. Thank you to the friends that were willing to play chaueffer, to friends that were willing to come more than halfway, to friends who weren't certain of their own beauty and became more beautiful to me the more vulnerable they were. Thank you to friends that came through in a pinch then acted like it was nothing at all, to friends that made my birthday special, to those that send cards for no reason. Thank you to the friends that are determined to stay in touch, to the friends that want to take care of me even when I don't need it, to friends that share their deepest, most secret part of their hearts. Thank you to friends that show me daily what it means to love fully, unselfishly, passionately, with abandon, tenderly, thoughtfully, generously and selflessly. To all my sweet friends know that I love you tremendously for what you did this past year and that my heart sings praises when I think of you individually and collectively. You are a living, breathing representation in my life of what a loving Father we have and how dearly He wants us to experience His love. I am blessed beyond reason, and have a wealth of riches with the relationships in my life. I love you.