Back in Time
Recently I reconnected with a dear friend from the past. She is so much a part of my life story that she is in my book, My Journey With Emma. In my book, my first mom friend is named "Amy" and her little girl is"Riley". Her actual name is Rhonda and her daughter is Ruth. She also has a husband named Tom and a precious son named Max. I have her permission to share a bit of our story. It's laced with the overwhelming realization of just how important it is that we walk in transparency and together in brokenness. Rhonda and I met when our first born children were just 5 or 6 months old. Honestly, details are hazy for both of us but we both recall the relief of having a friend who wasn't judgmental and who could share in the exhaustion and navigation of first time motherhood. We spent hours together playing with our kids and hanging out at each other's homes surrounded by toys and sesame street. Peyton and Ruth learned to navigate the world of sharing Little People toys as Rhonda and I watched on. We often discussed our hopes of having more children.
We had our second children (my Emma and her Max) close together and this is where things went a little off kilter...and where I now know how important it is to not just put on a happy face and "fake it till you make it" because we can't rest in that mentality.
We can't walk with one another in that mentality. We aren't being the hands and feet of Jesus to one another when we carry that mindset.
This is a picture of baby Ruth and Peyton, 17 years ago. It took 17 years for Rhonda and I to look beyond the surface and into one another's hearts.
