The People In My Way

This week's gratitude challenge is supposed to be about a friend of mine- but I had an idea to tweak that a bit and express my thankfulness for a certain type of friend. Sorry if it seems a little redundant, because I did talk about my friends a few weeks ago in some other posts. But these people need a shout-out of their own.

I am thankful for internet friends. I have been terribly blessed to "meet" some lovely, amazing, kind people because of the wonders of the interwebs. We may have never met face to face, but they are very dear to me.

I'll start with my friend Zach. Zach and I had a mutual friend once upon a time- a girl who went to school with my brother. I shared things on her facebook wall and he would comment on them, and vice versa. We discovered we had a lot in common and decided to be friends ourselves, without her as a go-between! And that was just such a good decision on my part- I love Zach to death. Not only are we hilarious together (we need a TV show, seriously) but he understands a lot of stuff about my life and the things I go through that no one else can really "get." Sometimes I get so sad because I want to meet him for dinner or get together and binge-watch a TV show, but I can't because he lives several states away. And I swear, if I thought I could get people to donate, I'd set up a fundraising website to crowdfund the resources for him to come for a visit. Or move down here. That'd be fine, too. He's an awesome source of support and encouragement and humor for me.

Or there's Hannah, whose blog I am constantly referencing on this one. I don't remember how Hannah and I got connected, but I know it had something to do with Compassion. Not only is she a wonderful sponsor, but she's a wonderful friend, too. Hannah is my prayer partner. Even though I have never met her in person, I know that I can ask her to pray for just about anything and she will do it. She's offered me encouragement, concern, sympathy, kindness, and support, with an open ear (or eyes, since we communicate by typing) and an open heart. And I love her family, too! I love sending stickers and books to her little boy Juanito (who thinks I am Jessie of 'Toy Story' fame, apparently- which I find hilarious) and will love doing the same when Rosie gets a little older, too. : )

And lastly, there's Shelley. My inner middle schooler is still a little excited to have made a friend who lives in England (the setting for almost every book I have ever loved- and my second favorite section of EPCOT at Disney World.) Shelley is such a sweetheart, another friend that I met through some Compassion-related source who has proved to be an invaluable friend and confidante. And as an added bonus, Shelley is in a different time zone, so if I need to message someone in the middle of the night, to ask for prayer or share about my anxiety, I can send her a facebook message and she will probably respond faster than a local friend would. :)

One of my favorite phrases from my sponsor kids is "God put you in our path." Anahi's mom says it sometimes (and sometimes it gets translated as being "in the way.") I am SO thankful that these people have been put in my path- and this is just a sampling of the lovely blessings I have received because of these long-distance, born-of-technology friendships. Friends, I am glad you are in my way, and I hope that you continue to be in my way for a very, very long time. :)