Remember growing up and having a friend over to spend the night? The giggling, staying up until the wee hours and the "girl talk"! We discussed in detail, makeup, clothes and most importantly….boys! Well, I'm all grown up now with a husband and two children and yet I still like to have "girl talk" and more importantly, I need it. From birth, our gender is more talkative and more relational than the other gender we so love to talk about!! We crave relationship, connection and we so enjoy the sweetness of friendship. My heroes are my friends who have encouraged me, laughed with me, cried with me, prayed with me and most of all lovingly set me straight if needed. Choosing to share your heart with a friend is a step of faith, but the rewards are incredible. God is a god of relationship. He recognizes our need for relationship with each other. Proverbs 27:9 says ‘Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart.’ We need to share our life’s journey with others. Someone may need to hear your struggle just so they know they aren’t alone in their struggle. There are hurting women that God brings across our path. Will you risk your heart to capture the heart of your Father?

On my way to Starbucks to have wonderful “girl talk” with my friend Sumer, my little girl Olivia asked if she could go. I had told her it was a "girls talk" meeting to which she promptly replied….."Well I'm a girl". In an effort to get out of the door with minimal fanfare, I said, "I know you're a girl, but you have to be a Mom to go to this meeting". Undaunted, she pursued me out the door, saying, "Mommy, how do I become a mommy?" I laughed as I looked in those big blue eyes and cupped her face in my hands. “Someday, sweet girl, someday, you will be a Mommy and you will be able to meet a friend for "girl talk"”. Surprisingly, this seemed to satisfy her as she ran back in the house to her dolls and I headed to Starbucks for so much more than coffee!