Red on the Head

Today I got a little reflective. I walked by a mirror.

Seriously, I did get a little reflective about the people I've known in my life. I've been blessed with the opportunity to live different places, and consequently I've made friends all over the country. Friends that I wish I could spend time with more often.

But each of them have been a special blessing to me. When I think of these folks, I think of Melissa, Wanda, Sherree, Pam, John, Renee, Aimee, Earl, Scott, Randy, Penny, Loren, Danny, Teresa, Tammy, Karleen, Spike, Michael, Dale, Alicia, Donna, Ron, Terri, Ken, Faye, Allen, Sheilah, Alana...I could go on for a really long time here...if you don't see your name, please don't be offended. Just know that when we all get to heaven, there's a party at my house scheduled for the first 1,000 years. And you're all invited.

But there is one friend that has just stood head and shoulders above the rest. She and I worked together at one time, and we just...clicked. I think we recognized the same twisted sister in each other, and we became fast friends.

Since that time, we've shared a lot of laughs, some tears, some secrets, some not-so secrets, some struggles, some victories and a lot of those really good hugs that smoosh your boobs. She became my friend, but somewhere along the way, the friend part faded and I realized we were just sisters. God just forgot to give her red hair (He would never think of giving me brown hair).

I am thankful for Autumn. I wish we lived closer together so we could spend a lot more time together. I miss just hanging out with her. Autumn and I can sit together in the bathroom and flush the toilet and we'd find something about that which would make us giggle. Seriously...it doesn't matter what she and I do when we get together. We always laugh, we always are real, and we always support one another.

When I think of the things I admire about my sistah-friend, I have to say that faithfulness would be at the top of the list. Autumn is faithful to her belief in Jesus, she's faithful in her service, she's faithful in her daily walk and she's faithful to her husband. She's also faithful to her family, even when there are bumps in the road.

I also love that Autumn is so positive. She just looks at things and says, "Oh well...it is what it is." And deals with it. She likes to say she puts on her big girl panties and gets on with life. I admire that when life gets tough, she pulls up those britches and just forges ahead.

Autumn might not think she's a strong woman, but she is. She has faced some junk in her life, and has come out on the other side all the better. Not everyone does. She's smart enough to know that all of our life experiences can make us or break us – she chose to let them make her.

I love that Autumn has such a heart for God. She loves to sing and worship Him and talk to Him. She loves His word, and strives to live by it. She is one of those rare people that understand that God whispers to us because He knows that when He does, we have to get closer to Him to hear what He's saying. And she's willing to crawl right up into His lap.

Autumn is accepting of other people. She doesn't see color of skin, or status or job title...she just sees people. And she treats them all equally. She just accepts people as they are, warts and all. Only...she doesn't seem to notice the warts.

One of the greatest things about having Autumn as my friend is that we "go to the bathroom" for each other. Your mouth's hanging open...you should close it.

Of course, I don't mean that literally. A while back, we found ourselves calling each other and asking for prayer support. To get some privacy in order to pray, we would each go to the bathroom. There aren't many people I would kneel at a porcelain altar for, but Autumn is certainly one of them. And I know she prays for me, whenever and wherever. It doesn't matter how big or how small the concern is – we just pray.

So...despite the fact that God forgot to give her red hair, I am proud and honored to call Miz Jones my sistah-friend. I know that when the time comes for that party, she'll be right by my side, and we'll be giggling and still sharing jokes that make no one laugh but us.

Now...that will be some kinda heaven.