Soul Sister

God has been growing my heart by changing my definitions. Recently, I realized I found myself mentioning my best friend, frequently in conversation. We will call her Ariel. Whenever I mentioned Ariel, or share some of the wisdom or insight she had shared with me, I felt a warm spot on my heart. I realized more and more how much I trust this woman, how much I value her in my life, and how she is the best friend for which I have praying for many years. I still had not allowed my whole heart to be connected to hers because I am afraid of rejection, disappointment, and embarrassment, all emotions I have suffered through broken relationships. Whenever I found myself mentioning Ariel in a conversation, I added and explanation as to how she was connected to me. You know, like, "she is a friend of mine who I met here when we did this" etc. It was like I had to have a logical, explainable reason for her being in my life, that way if she left my life for any reason, I could have an explanation for her departure as well. A clean and simple relationship.

God has been opening my heart, helping me to be secure in who I am. I am a good friend, I am worthy of having good friends. This friend, whom I love like a sister, is a gift from God. She is not some casual acquaintance I happened to meet. She and I were brought by an all powerful being who knows our needs, and knows we need each other. So Ariel and I have connected on a deeper level, I have shared more with her than with any other and she understand me. She is a safe place to fall. This is the philia love, the brotherly (or in this case sisterly) love that has been missing from my life. I love my husband and he fulfills many of my needs, but not all. Sometimes you just need girl time! So, as I was praying for Ariel this week, God gave me a new word to describe our relationship...sister. She is my sister, not by blood, but in every other sense of the word. I no longer need to describe or explain our relationship to others. God has helped my heart heal and grow so that I have room for my new sister.