Why God gives us girlfriends

I live in a house full of boys (just in case the name on the top of the page didn't give that away). I love my people. I love that I get to be a wife to a good man and a mom to the two cutest little people I've ever seen. These people are fun. They like to do fun boy things like see who can fart the loudest, see who can have the smelliest feet, and see who can make me jump the highest by scaring me with lizards (I hate lizards).

I love these people and have fun with these people and consider these people my mission field.
But I'm still a girl (Woman? Can I say woman at 30? The word still feels weird to me). And sometimes I want to talk about my FEELINGS (I'm sorry to be a stereotype. Really). These people don't really like talking about feelings. I get that. I grew up with brothers. But try as I might, I can't make my feelings go away.

I've been wanting another baby. Like NOW. Or YESTERDAY. I know it's not the right time. Ben and I have already established that if we are to be responsible adults, we absolutely must wait before adding another tiny person to the planet. On paper, I totally get that. My ovaries don't really care what's on paper. Not one iota.

Yesterday, I was really feeling it. I keep praying I won't want another. And won't you know, the more I pray, the stronger the pull on my heart gets. It's very annoying, actually. The cool thing about yesterday, is even though I was bummed, in a big old funk, my girlfriends just kind of knew it and started texting me. Emily, all the way from LA, was going on about how wanting a third baby doesn't make me some kind of freak show, that I'm normal, that I am female and it's totally okay. Gosh I wanted to hug her through my outdated Iphone. She was such a blessing to me when I was expecting to wallow and she was just great at lifting my spirits.

Then my other good friend, Andrea, did the same thing. Emily and Andrea don't even know each other, but it was almost like they planned it. Andrea went on to encourage me and tell me that this is not the end of the story, that it's totally okay to be in a funk some days and I am indeed normal.

I am so thankful God gave me girlfriends to do life with. There are so many, and each of them seems to be there for me at exactly the right time. I don't even ask, they just know. And I know it's a God thing. The family I came from is broken, and extremely tangled, and there has been more than a little heartache. But God has placed some key women in my life who have become my sisters. Sisters I can share things with and not worry about being judged. Sisters I can just be FEMALE with. Sisters who remind me that even though I am in a house full of boys, it's okay to paint my nails and watch Parenthood and just be a girl sometimes.

I am super grateful God gave me some of the best ladies around.