True Friends Are A Gift From God!

Wow! I am truly amazed at the number of true friends God has blessed me with! I have lots of people who care about me and I am very blessed! I was given many reminders of that this week. I'm choosing to focus on what I DO have, rather than on what I don't have. Here are just a few examples of the love, support and encouragement I have received from friends this week, in no particular order of importance.

• My friend Jen is on vacation in Texas. Wednesday night she saw on my facebook status that Jeff & I had broken up. She called me the first thing on Thursday morning to see how I was doing. It really meant a lot to me that she would call me while on her vacation to see how I was doing! Thanks Jen! :)
• My very very dear friend Carey who I have known for 16.5 years has been there for me through countless break-ups. Seriously, I couldn't even count the amount of hours she has spent listening to me vent and process these break-ups and the difficulties I had while in these relationships. She has always encouraged me to never settle for any guy! She has always assured me that I can't be too picky and she is just an awesome encourager. Just a few weeks ago she reminded me that God was protecting me through all of the past break-ups. Thursday I received such a sweet email from Carey, that I cried while I was reading it on my cell phone while on a break at work. It really meant the world to me to be uplifted and encouraged by such a dear friend. It truly was a gift from God for me to read these words when I needed them the most! I seriously don't remember receiving a greater compliment than this: "Jen, I know God has plans for you - I've seen so many things you have influenced over the years without even really realizing it. You're one of those people connectors, like glue. Relationships begin and grow because of you, and I'm not talking about just romantic ones. Friends have met because of you, making their lives richer - not only from knowing you, but from the others you introduce them to. It happened when you were in CO, it happened in Milwaukee. I'm sure it's probably already happened in IN. And in those relationships, people have grown closer to the WORD. When you date, your faith shines through and influences all those new people you meet. You've probably planted the seed of faith, or at least watered it in a hundred people by now!" Thanks Carey! Reading this helped me more than you know! :)
• My friend Mary has also listened to me a countless number of times and continues to remind me that my worth comes from Jesus and not from anyone else! I can't count the number of times she has reminded me of this over the past year, and let me tell you, it has sunk in, and is a huge comfort to me right now, so I owe Mary a big thank you! :)
• My friend & roomie Alaina has been so supportive of me and my struggles, especially the past few weeks. She continually has texted me, emailed me, and checked in on me while I'm in my bedroom to see how I'm doing and to see if I'm ok. Not to mention the many times she's heard the same things over and over and over again the past few weeks, yet continues to be patient and loving with me. She even invited me out to dinner with her family tonight so I wouldn't be in the house alone and be depressed. Living with her has brought me closer to God. Thanks Alaina! :)
• My friend Ramona who I've also known for 16.5 years emailed on me Friday as soon as she received my email regarding the relationship ending in a bad way, and assured me that "Surely God has better things planned for me than being treated like I had been this week". She followed that up with a phone call right after work on Friday to see how I was doing. We've been through a lot together and have spent lots of time on the phone regarding similar singleness/dating struggles. Thanks lady! :)
• Last but not least, my friend Holly is such an upbeat and positive person! She continually chooses to look at the bright side of things. We were talking on the phone on Thursday evening and when I told her how ugly things got, she said to me "You DO realize that he didn't REALLY love you, don't you? Otherwise he wouldn't have said all of those horribly mean & abusive things to you." Wow! It was at that moment that it completely sunk in, that what I was missing wasn't really true love, it was what I thought was love, but it wasn't love. That really made it easier to not miss being in that relationship. Holly also continues to encourage me to reach my goals at work. We work together and I don't know what I'd do without her smiling face at work! Thanks Holly! :)

I want to thank ALL of my friends and family for being so loving, encouraging, supportive and empathetic with me. You guys are the best friends and family anyone could ever have. I love you ALL! :) God Bless! :)