The Gift of Girlfriends!

Community...connection. That is what the world is all about. It is not about stuff...
On Friday night I entertained a house full of speakers in my home. It was an evening of getting to know each others hearts and sharing stories of each others lives...with lots of food and laughs filling in the gaps.
What a joy to see the human side of people, the 'real side', the part that is not concerned about making money, but is concerned about making a difference.
Then the next evening the house filled up with girlfriends. Oh, the sound of fun and laughter and love. I can only imagine how Jesus must have been smiling down on my house last night.
From the first girlfriends, Gina and Tammy, who came early to help get ready; to the two girls that came into the house, made a name tag and grabbed hugs and great conversation before anyone realized that they were at the wrong party!!
But the evening was so much more than anything I can write down on paper.
It is common knowledge that when girls gather there is jealousy, insecurity and judgement. There was the obvious absence of that from the minute the first guest walked through the door.
Everyone wanted to know each other and celebrate their stories. Most girls had never met each other, but had heard about the other from stories I have shared. And they came to the house ready to share, laugh, and love. And there was not a shortage of any of these.
I marveled at the ease in which each person conversed with the person standing in the food line next to them, the ease in which the women grabbed each other for a hug or laughed at the fun of the Santa hats and red clown noses.
Oh, it didn't stop there. There was the costume jewelry game and the music by Teresa.
And the love. And the greatest of these was love.
We celebrated Christmas, the birth of the baby. He was ever so present in my house this weekend.
What a gift he is to us...happy birthday Jesus! Thank you for being at your own party...we gave you your gift - the gift of love! We gave you back the gift of you...thank you!