And now, a final post for today, commemorating the annual Friendsgiving tradition! ❤ (P.S. Yay for Max having all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes in a fun collection right now!)
1. 2012 - Chet Lee decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner party for friends in his first year at his first home at 1812 S. Willow. =) Traditional Thanksgiving food + the sleepy cup Sarah found creepy + a few rounds of Nerts and I'm sure lots of other fun conversations!
2. 2013 - Newlyweds Chet Lee and Karli Marie hosted this group for a fun Friendsgiving event!
3. 2014 - Kitten Lucy joined the Wilson fam, and we had a Thanksgiving cake as one of our desserts!
4. 2015 - An Italian feast + a random-but-funny potholders pic in our last Friendsgiving at the 1812 house!
5. 2016 - The year of Jenna being my roommate + our first Friendsgiving at the Farmhouse!! Fun times and a big group that year!
6. 2017 - Even bigger group for this Pioneer Woman enchiladas dinner!
7. 2018 - Tate's first Friendsgiving! I love that we got a group pic all three years at the Farmhouse - I'm always more hesitant to ask for that when there's lots of kids, but I'm gonna push for it more often moving forward!
8. 2019 - First gathering at their current home with a fun photo wall + the Shoemakers first time joining our group + celebrating LB's 40th birthday + Ellie's first Friendsgiving!
9. 2020 - An outdoor lunch on a nice November day + playing outside + a socially distant photo (bc it made us laugh) + two surprise pregnancy announcements (Karli and Sarah)!
10. 2021 - Group pic by the Harvest Tree + Kate and Parker and Zealand's first Friendsgiving!
11. 2022 - 11 people for Friendsgiving #11, a Mexican food fiesta + some fun pics and good conversation!
12. 2023 - Steve hanging out at the kids table makes me happy here. Our fifth Friendsgiving at their current home was a great crowd and fun times!
13. 2024 - And that brings us to yesterday's event, Holly's first Friendsgiving, and year #13 of Chet Lee and Karli Marie hosting the friend group for a fun dinner party just before Thanksgiving! ❤
I'm in a weird, scary season here at the end of graduate school. A lot of unknowns, mounting pressure, fear of failure, and a bit of a desire to hide and stick to what is familiar and stable. This weekend held some good reminders of the power of stepping out of our comfort zone, the power of pushing ourselves to do more than we think we can, the power of friendship, the stagnancy fear can create, the wisdom of trusting God, and the power of prayer.
I'm incredibly thankful for this annual tradition - for the Wilsons being willing to clean and cook and having the room to host lots of growing families - for feeling welcomed and loved in a group that is mostly married friends with children - for the inside jokes and stories, the photos, years of great memories, and the sense that there will be many more years of this... (in Heaven if not on earth). For me, things like this feel like a mini-preview of Heaven - full of life and love and chaos and playful kids and good food and friendship and warmth and memories and laughter and old and new stories and connecting in prayer. Sarah talked about feeling torn between her roles as a mom and grad student, worrying that she is not doing enough in one or the other. Jon had some good words of encouragement, then he offered to pray for her, so we stopped and prayed together at the table.
One of the worst scars left by friends who discarded me is the feeling that relational indifference is power and caring too much is weakness... that people will only move toward you when you don't really need them, and that speaking up for what you need/want is often dangerous and may lead to great loss. It's a thought that hits me from time to time, and in relationships with people who have strong dismissive avoidant tendencies, those things are often true. But those are unhealthy relationships, not the standard of measure. Mature, healthy people don't dismiss their needs and desires - they form secure attachments in relationships and practice communicating with truth and love. What's really helping/healing for me lately is James 4:8 - "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." God does not back away or keep us at arms' length when we run toward Him. He does not look elsewhere or quickly lose interest when we start talking to Him. When we move toward Him, He moves toward us. His heart is FOR US. When He feels distant, it's likely because I am not actively pursuing Him.
I feel more aware of my need for God's guidance lately, for connection with Him, for His peace. I'm praying about starting my own business vs. applying for an opening with benefits somewhere, praying about where I should live moving forward, whether to pursue motherhood further or fully let it go, etc. Not small things. Not decisions I should make based on emotion or human wisdom without God's help. So I'm pressing in and drawing near and voicing my needs and trusting Him to move toward me and speak truth in love to my heart! I need to get quiet enough to hear the still, small voice in the midst of this holiday chaos... and I need to believe in the depths of my soul that God's love will strengthen me for whatever comes next. It feels like a daunting mystery more than an exciting adventure right now, like I'm tired of watching doors close as I step toward them, and standing still feels safer... which is why the reminder that God Himself will move toward me as I move toward Him is especially helpful right now. God is with me and for me. (And He is with you and for you!)
All right, friends! I needed to write and process and get all of this down today. I applaud anyone who's read all of today's posts! =) Thanks for being here and caring. In case no one else tells you, I love you and I believe in you, and I believe in your ability to move closer to God and to hear from Him in a real way!!
❤ ❤ ❤
