A good old fashioned sleepover

When I moved to Harrisburg, the church I started attending needed someone to work with the middle school youth group, and I--being new in town--needed something to do.  Plus, I thought it was important work.  I figured it'd be good.  Little did I know it'd still be bearing fruit, 6 years down the road.

You see, within that youth group, I worked closely with a 'small group' of girls.  During our weekly big group meetings, we talked together during a specified 'small-group' time about what the speaker had said, about who God is,  about what it means to seek Him, love Him, know Him, about what it means to be a Christian, about how to live our lives in a way that honors Him.

But then, we also got to have some time outside of the weekly meeting.  We went shopping, we met for coffee, we went shopping, we met for coffee but ended up going shopping....  We did a lot of shopping.

But, we also had  some super fun sleepovers at my house that did not involve shopping.  Instead, we made food, laughed, became strangely obsessed with certain songs, did art projects, [they] cut each other's hair in my bathroom in the middle of the night, talked, and did all of the fun things that go along with sleepovers.

After two years with them I moved away, but that didn't end our friendship.  Instead, we see each other somewhat regularly when I get back to town.  And, this past weekend, I drove home from my baby shower to greet them at my door.

For?

A sleepover.

A much more grown up one, since they are now all grown up.

Just because we're grown-ups now, however, doesn't mean the super fun is over:

Meg kept us laughing with her directness and her wit.  

Lydia kept us interesting with her sense of refinement and grace.

And Hailey kept us focused with her infinite wisdom and quiet strength.

There was really no question about whether or not super fun would happen, because--truth be told--we are all pretty goofy:

But, what I have always loved about these goofy girls is that they are willing and desiring to go deep, to talk about what matters, to seek answers to the questions they take the time to have.

Hence, over dinner of extremely-thick-crust pizza,

during a walk through the dusky air, in my candle-lit living room on our return home,

over delectable dessert, 

and over breakfast the next morning,

we talked.  We went deep.  We laughed even more.  We missed the presence of Jesi and Abby.  We asked the good questions, and looked for the answers.  Together.

And I am left with the reassurance that--as these women head into new adventures (college?!) and as they continue to walk in the situations and relationships they are in--they are going to be just fine.  I also know that my life is fuller because they've spoken into it, and because they continue to speak.  And--that good old fashioned sleepovers shouldn't just be a thing of the past.