March 27, 2007 @ 3:04 pm | Filed under: Friends, It's a Girl Thing, Pure Sunshine

The proposal for Finding Faith is sealed in an envelope and will be dropped off at Post Net on my way home this afternoon. (I would pause here to do a little happy dance except I’m sitting in the library at school and that would draw WAY too much attention my direction:) In a few short days it will find its way to the desks of my publishers while I wait to hear if it is a story they desire to represent.

There is something that feels so extraordinary about sliding those freshly printed sheets of manuscript inside an 9×11 manilla envelope and preparing it for the mail. While the manuscript is still not complete, this is the point in the process where I can draw my first deep breath and take a brief moment to relax. Inside this envelope is the proposal and sample chapters, the equivalent of my heart and soul and the complete vision that I carry for this story.

For the next few, brief days the story is more or less out of my hands as I wait to hear the verdict. The story has crystalized in my heart and mind and - for me - the most excruciating part of the process is just about over. While I wait to hear back I will work intensively to finish the remaining chapters and then begin the satisfying process of layering in more emotion, conflict, and spiritual threads throughout the story.

But first…(drumroll, please)

I’m off for a girl’s-only weekend with my friends!

After I complete three exams (count ‘em - THREE - how on earth did THAT happen?) on Thursday morning, I will finally be free to hit the highway around noon. We will be attending a ladies retreat a few hours drive from here and we’ll be sharing, laughing, eating, crying, and worshiping, (in no particular order) during our time away. I always come home with my soul rejuvenated, my mind refreshed, and my heart overflowing with the beauty of friendship.

The above picture is of me and my roommates. These are the women who feel the heartbeat of my life. They uphold me in prayer, make me laugh until I cry, and always, always, always challenge me to be a better person. I thought I had great friends as a little girl but these women have revolutionized the whole meaning of friendship for me.

Of course, it helps that when I suggest an authentic Irish dinner for St. Patrick’s Day, they jump on board with energy and enthusiasm! Despite the fact that none of us knew the definition of "authentic Irish food." Regardless that not a one of us had ever attempted such culinary wonders in the kitchen before. And - for the record - the meal was a complete hit - delicious, prepared to perfection, and enjoyed by all.

The best part was the process though. Just moving around the kitchen together - reading recipes, seasoning the lamb, boiling the potatoes for the colcannon, stirring the braised root vegetables, and baking Bonnie’s scrumptious carrot cake. Occasionally we’d bump into one another, getting in each other’s way and fumbling for various pots and pans, but laughing and joking the entire time.

There are some things that money just can’t buy.

One of them is friendships like these.

Another is the peace that comes with sealing a small segment of your dream in an envelope and sending it on its way with a whispered prayer.

Today, I’m thankful for both.