A+ Friends

This morning I got to wake up at 5:30 so that I could get to bible study by 6:30 to meet with some of my favorite 8th grade girls before school. These mornings are early but I love this opportunity to spend time with beyond the hallways of school, to share my faith with them and help them think about and talk about their own. I stated meeting with them in the middle of their 7th grade year and I'm sad we only have a few more times to meet before the summer.

After school Rachel and I road-tripped to Depauw to see Arielle as the lead in "The Heidi Chronicles." Arielle and I grew up doing drama clinic, summer plays at the library and later productions at Delphi High School. All of it was fun for me, but for Arielle it was always so much more. It's easy to see that Arielle feels at home on the stage, when she talks about a play coming to an end you know it's going to be so sad, that this is what she's passionate about because she's SO good at it.

Arielle played Heidi, a feminist Art aficionado, and the play followed her, her two love interests and friends through the decades of American history. It was funny and smart and we loved watching our friend perform.

And during the curtain call her fan section was screaming our support. She's the best.

I loved getting to drive with Rachel, to reunite with the Depauw girls Chrissy and Colleen, to be with Annie who drove down for the weekend from Chicago.

These girls know how to love each other well with kind words and back scratches and cheering sections and hugs. Slipping back into college world for a night with them reminds me of nights with Fezzey and Ruthie and Jamie and Lani back at Hope. Friends like these are so precious.

Arielle did so well and we were incredibly impressed with her ability to memorize probably over an hour and a half of lines. She's a rockstar like that. I'm so thankful for these women and being with them tonight was the perfect start to the weekend.