Friends!

I just want to say how grateful I am for my new friends. I don't think any of them read, or even know about, my blog but I wanted to put it out there. I have always been lucky that the ladies in church have welcomed me with open arms. It is great to listen and learn from their wisdom. It is also fun too see them as peers rather than my superiors. But sometimes it is nice to have friends your own age.

When I first moved back I was counseled by someone close to me, to keep company with people who have my standards or higher. I found this odd since I don't really hang out with people often. Not that I wouldn't love to get out and do things but I was never much of a joiner. But in the past almost 4 months, I have gotten invited to do a ton of things. I really feel like Heavenly Father knew I needed a distraction from life and he placed people in my path so that I would have the opportunity to do these things.

With my previous council in mind, I tried to be discerning about which things to go and do. At first there seemed to be plenty to do but nothing that I wanted to do. Or at least nothing that would help me make the new friends I needed. Then one day I got a text that would change my life. Well. . . Ok, I am being dramatic. But I got invited to a get together by a person who I knew would surround himself with the people I wanted to know.

So off I went and I was terrified. I didn't know how many people I would know or how many people would be there and talk to me. For some, these uncertainties are exciting and gets there adrenaline pumping. For me it is anxiety attack worthy. Luckily, everyone was so sweet and made an effort to talk and get to know me. I was fairly reserved about my current situation. Not wanting to be judged by anything that is going on. Especially when no one would know the full story.

I left that night feeling uplifted and motivated to keep in touch with these people. Of course, Facebook was the perfect avenue for this. After adding all my new friends, the chatting began. There was one person imparticular I got along with really well. This person asked me questions about my past, presant and future. And he didn't get weirded out talking about kids or divorce. Usually, I consider myself the Queen of Acquaintances but I was making friends. Real friends that would ask about my day and cared if I had a hard time at work. Not just people that waved if they happened to see me in line at the grocery. I do have to admit that I don't usually let people in, so I am partly to blame, but most don't make too much of an effort either. These couple of changes where making my life happier and I would have been content to just chat with my new found friends and know that in a few months I would be able to join them more often at singles activities. But someone had other ideas in mind.

Recently, I was invited to a game night. True to self, I assumed that it was just a giant get together and they were just inviting me to be nice. No one could actually want to hang out with me, right? Well, I was wrong. It was a small group of people and the majority I had never even met before that night. This is going to sound so cheesy but it was an honor to be one of the few that got invited. I was welcomed with open arms and, once again, people made an effort to get to know me. I ended the evening happy and tired (it was after midnight when I left Lexington) but already with another invitation to join them again in the near future.

This is already far to long but I just have to say that it is such a blessing to have these new people in my life. I have never gotten the opportunity to sit in a room and hear religion discussed more than sports or gossip. I have never played a game of Scattagories in which past LDS prophets where used in the answers. It is an amazing feeling to be in these peoples presence. It makes me know I need to do more to become stronger in the gospel. Maybe next time I will be able to pick my jaw off the ground and get in my two cents. I hope to have many more, shorter, stories in the future. But for the first time, I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be. I know Heavenly Father is looking at my life specifically and helping me make decisions that will help me become a better person and that will help me through the hard times.

The future looks amazing!