On Knowing Other Women.

Today was a good day.


A beautiful day when I was yet again reminded to go. be. do.... and celebrate.


Everyday is not like this. It is easy to get sucked into the void of "everyday," overwhelmed with laundry, grocery lists and crying toddlers. You don't have to have four kids and a Joshua to take care of to know this. Everyday as a Mama is not the best day. After fourteen years of being a mother, I am getting ok with the "everyday."


But some days.


Some days are beautiful.


They happen, these beautiful days, rather unexpectedly.


There are some days, ,when some of the most beautiful women you know - and some you don't' - surround you with love and understanding. Uplifting and hopeful. Mothers and Grandmothers who have been where you are. Who have wiped the tears you are crying from their own faces once or twice before. And then the ones who haven't yet crossed the well traveled bridges you are navigating... those who follow behind you.

And I am reminded. Life is full. Blessed. And very lovely.

I sit across from a beautiful woman (inside and out) who professes that she has four teenage girls living under her roof. And she tells me, so wisely, that I WILL come out on the other side of this experience we call "being fourteen." And I will survive. And right now, I should handle with care and grace. Whoa.

I. Will. Survive.

I hear her speak about her daily life. And how, at the end of the day, she tries to remember to be finished with her personal matters, so she can just be her husband's wife. Revelation. Maybe I should stop running around like a frantic housekeeper until 10 pm. Who knew?

Wow. Simple. And yet so... profound. Two of my problems solved. In a very short amount of time. By someone who was just talking. Sharing. Giving. Passing down their own life travels.

I love bible study days. I walk in with an open heart and prepare to be amazed. Not only at what I will come away with from a book or a highlighted note. But from what I will learn from other women... those who know me well and those who don't know me at all... other women who have walked my same path... a slightly different path... all who have something to teach me.

A reminder that we, mothers... women... need other women in our lives. My network. My Village.

Did I mention it was a good day? It was.