Dear Reader,
I am blessed by a rare collection of close girlfriends. Most of us have known each other for more than a quarter century.  Two of us were even in each other’s weddings more than 30 years ago. There are seven of us, and we are from diverse parts of the country and we span an age gap of more than 10 years.

So what brought us together? Mainly, our church and our kids’ parent-involved school. But many of us also work or worked for the same ministry in Orlando. Our homes are near each other. Our kids grew up together. Two are related by marriage. The rest of us, well, we’ve just grown to love each other like sisters, even when we have vast areas of disagreement.

We call each other Wonder Women, not because we are superheroes who can save people from evil, but because we are wonderfully made, and filled with wonder at what God has allowed us to accomplish.

We have prayed for each other, cried together over the deaths of parents and the wanderings of children, celebrated the birth of a grandchild, a wedding, and an engagement, eaten countless meals together, and celebrated major holidays as one very large family.

My life would be vastly different if it weren’t for these six ladies. 

Proverbs 17:17 in The Message translation says it best: “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.”

This month in the Redbud Post, the Redbud writers are celebrating and investigating Friendship. What does it mean, what does it not mean, and why is it important? We’ll look at long-term friendships, a friendship that needed to end, and the wonders of a diverse friend group that doesn’t share much in common except for love and respect–which should be enough for everyone.

Thanks for joining us. Let us know what you think.

Many blessings,

Stephanie Reeves
Editor in Chief