Welcome! I’m glad you are here. 🙂
Come sit on my big overstuffed couch in my family room and get cozy. I’m going to tell you a little story. It’s a uplifting true story and took many years to unfold. Maybe in the hearing of the story, you will remember your own stories that are beautiful and point to the fact that God loves us and is in the details of our lives.
Many years ago, I was attending college. At the beginning of my sophomore year, my new apartment for the year was not ready when I arrived and I was invited to stay in the apartment next door for a couple days. There I met JoAnn who was bubbling with energy and joy. We became fast friends! I loved this girl’s positivity and she could totally make me laugh! She was studying Public Relations and I was studying Musical Dance Theatre.
JoAnn and I went on many adventures together: shopping, playing and serving balanced between school and homework! We played jokes on each other. We laughed together until our stomachs ached and we had times where we cried together. During the Thanksgiving weekend one year, we got into a terrible roll over car accident, which is a story in and of itself that I may share another time.
A couple years passed and JoAnn left on a mission for France and I left on a mission for Chile to share the message of God’s love with anyone who wanted to learn. After our missions we were roommates together. Soon both of us met men with whom we were smitten and got married months later within a week of each other and of course we were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings. JoAnn had taken to calling us cloud mates because we knew that our friendship was a gift from God in each of our lives. It takes a long time to make old friends and we were true joyful friends. 🙂
Surprisingly, after graduating from the university, returning from missions and getting married, JoAnn and I ended up living in the same city of Las Vegas (despite the different careers for ourselves and our husbands). Time passed, we had kids, and experienced life. Soon it had been 17 years of amazing friendship!
Eventually though, my family moved away to Gilbert, Arizona. Sad, but we knew distance would not diminish our connection!
On the first Sunday in my new congregation (or ward), I was asked to serve with the young children in Primary as the President. I walked into primary not knowing a single adult or child. There was a song leader who was vibrant and loved the kids so wonderfully. Moreover, the way she taught those kids about Jesus was powerful! I just loved her instantly, that cute Julie girl. We also became fast friends. She had 8 children and I had 5 and our youngest children were little and were the perfect age for exchanging babysitting, which we did.
About a month into my new residence of Arizona, JoAnn called to see how everything was going. We chatted about the good and the challenging. Then she said “I wonder if you have met a dear friend of mine who lives near that area…” I quickly responded I knew so few people, that probably not. She said “Her name is Julianne, she has two sets of twins and you would really like her.”
I was stunned! I blurted to JoAnn: “Julie is my only friend here!” Ha ha! I had been here such a short time, but seriously met Julie within a couple days and became fast close friends!
Well, that my friends was the beginning of the 3 amigas, cloud mates if you will. It takes a long time to grow old friends. Decades have passed since I first met that darling JoAnn girl, and 16 years have passed since I first met that wonderful Julie lady.
Since then, we have helped each other with the weddings of our children, gone on a cruise with our husbands together, and explored a bit of Europe together making fun and delightful memories.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this story was how the three of us all became friends. However, that is not necessarily the heart of this tale.
I know if I need help or sound advice, I can call one of these incredible women and they always remind me to take the high road and to love.
Every. Time. Over Years. I can count on them. These girls know my heart and I know theirs. They want to be dedicated disciples of Christ in which we find peace. Thus, when life get’s tricky and any of us feel burdened, we can turn to each other and find a hand and heart of support.
Cloud Mates.
These are the kind of lasting friends I would wish for my children. These are the kind of friends I would wish for you. Look for them, pray for them and be one! 🙂
Hugs! Come over again soon!
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Okay– I’m admittedly a little teary reading this. Not because it’s a new story to me. It’s not. I’ve lived it and I’ve loved it. But I’m teary because you so beautifully explained how our God has interwoven sources of strength in our lives. And I’m so grateful. So grateful to a loving and kind and amazing Father in Heaven. And so grateful for my sources of strength – with you and Julie leading that parade of joy! Love you!
Love you too darling JoAnn! 🙂