My friend, Denny, is finally coming back to us for a visit. On this eve of her arrival, I thought I’d post a journal entry about our friendship. I can’t wait to see her. Oh, and I posted this picture, because we have often seen a lot of Ruth and Naomi in our friendship. Of course, I’m Ruth, because I’m younger and cuter. Just sayin’…

We had become friends almost instantly;  too quickly, according to some of our individual friends. Not that it mattered too much what others thought, because God was obviously and determined to put us together. And, neither of us were brave enough—nor willing—to say no to Him.

Of course, to begin with we both had questions, a lot of questions. Who wouldn’t, given the way we’d met and the fact that we had been drawn to one another practically from the get-go? How could an anonymous, virtual game of internet Scrabble, a chance meeting on a social networking site, lead to such a deep, tangible and very real friendship? What could God have possibly been thinking by pairing the two of us together and for what reason?

From the outside, we were just so different. Two very different women with different pasts and different presents. One, a single mom with two jobs and the other a semi-retired housewife. What’s more, we lived what seemed like a world apart—one in western Canada and the other in the southeastern United States.

But, on the inside, well, that’s where it all began to make sense. For on the inside, we were practically twins, soul mates whose bond was quick, yet undeniably powerful and steadfast. So powerful, in fact, that even against our common nature, we were drawn to each other, spending hours truly getting to know one another from the inside out. We talked about everything, from our childhood, to our adulthood, our pain and sorrow, our hopes and dreams, and most especially about God, who we both loved with all our hearts and who continued to make it abundantly clear that He wanted to be at the helm of our lives and that he wanted our lives to be intertwined forevermore.

No, there was absolutely no way this was a chance meeting. For two ordinarily private people highly skilled at hiding behind humor to finally lay down their weapons of defense—the very masks they used when they thought the rest of the world was looking—this most definitely had to be a God thing.

The next seven-plus years would prove that over and over again; and is the basis of a story that God has placed in my heart; a beautiful,  unbelievable, but very true story that is sure to touch hearts and to help people for years to come. And, though life keeps getting in the way of actually getting that story set in ink, it is with pen in hand that the journey of purpose continues. One day…prayerfully soon…you will be able to read it in its entirety.

In the meantime, welcome back, Denny. My heart and home are yours. Amen and Ehmen!