brave people

morning: 9:15 a.m.

we were sitting outside of the bookstore sipping our coffee and people watching.
after the typical small talk, i finally asked the hardest question and her eyes began to water.
she told me her story which was full of one trial after another.
i could hear the pain in her voice and i could feel it in my own heart.
"i don't like crying," she exclaimed as she did everything she could to fight back those tears.

evening: 5:30 p.m.

we were sitting in those fancy massage chairs getting our nails done.
of course it took forever for us to pick out the colors we wanted.
we were laughing at how awkward it was that we can't understand the nail ladies who talk in a different language.
there was a lot of laughter in that nail salon.
i was so happy to see her laughing even about the hard things.

evening: 8:00 p.m.

we were standing in the sand volleyball court as the sun began to set.
out of the large group of people there, of course my team ended up being my high school friends.
it was just like old times almost.
guards were up and things were different.
it was so especially hard to keep her tears in but she did a really good job and i'm so proud of her.

evening: 9:35 p.m.

we were walking away from the volleyball court and it was too hard to keep it in.
rivers of tears flooded my friend's face.
three of us hopped into one car and drove around town.
sometimes there just aren't words to say when one of your dearest friends is drowning in tears.
all you can do is hurt for them.
i found myself staring out the window praying for my friend so fervently.
after a while the words came and two of us up front tried so very hard to comfort her in the back.
it is so hard.
life is so hard.
life is difficult to understand.
most times, i don't even know what to think.
but by the end of the evening, she was laughing again and began to accept the curveballs life had thrown at her.

i am constantly impressed by my friend.
i cannot even begin to imagine all of the things that she has had to go through.
and at the end of the day, through her tears, she was smiling and laughing.
even though her entire world had come crashing down, she was ready to take the next small step in trusting in God's plan.
her strength inspires me.

gosh my friend is brave.