My Mommy Is My Best Friend

This morning, on the way to church, Evan asked Allison who her best friend was. She said, without hesitation, "My Mommy is my best friend!" It was the first time I had heard her say anything like that. I looked at her and said, "Oh, I love you, Allison!" She replied, "I love you too, Mommy. You're my best friend!" 

My heart nearly burst! 

While we were at dinner this evening Allison continuously wanted to hug me and kept begging her Daddy to take pictures of us together. She is absolutely the sweetest little thing! She brings so much joy to my life!

The boys had to get in on all the hugs too!

This afternoon Bryan was laying grass seed and hay in our backyard to patch up some muddy spots where our dogs have dug up the grass. While he was spreading the hay, the wind was blowing the chaff through the air. It reminded me of illustrations I've read in the Bible about the threshing floor.  A threshing floor was a large flat surface that was used to separate the chaff from the wheat. People would use a winnowing fork or oxen would stamp on the wheat to separate the good stuff from the not so good stuff.

As I watched the chaff fly through the air this afternoon, God reminded me that He does something similar in our lives as well. He only wants what is best for us. He doesn't want us to be weighed down by the "chaff" in our lives. A couple of years ago my best friend of 4 years suddenly decided she no longer wanted to speak to me. I'm still unclear why. My heart was broken. I felt so rejected and hurt. In some ways, I still do. But this afternoon, as those tiny pieces of hay flew through the air, I found peace in knowing that sometimes people and things need to be removed from our lives so that God can use all the good stuff to mold us into the person He created us to be. I believe that is why that friendship ended. God has plans for me and He knew that friendship would hold me back. I wish we could have remained friends but, after seeing all God has done in the past year, I can see why that relationship needed to end. 

This morning, when Allison said, "My Mommy is my best friend," my heart overflowed with gratitude for this sweet little girl and the bond we have. Just before that special friendship ended, God gave me a daughter who would be my new best friend. What a sweet blessing that is! 

Today I am thankful for my daughter, my best little friend. She is a gift from God in so many ways. As God sifted my life and the chaff flew away, He gathered so many good, wonderful things to help me become the person I am today so that He could use me as He sees fit. And while doing that, He gave me a new best friend--one that heard my heartbeat from the inside. 

The sifting and separating of the not-needed things in our lives isn't easy but God is so faithful to use that pain and heartbreak to create something new and beautiful. 

Thank you, Father, for my best little friend.