**Don’t worry, Mom — I know this title might concern you but we didn’t cut our fingers & mix blood like Tom & Huck. Maybe we would’ve if we’d thought of it, but don’t worry — we didn’t 😉 **
“Yeah, her name is Alex, Momma…add her to the list!”
“Alex. Yes, okay. Can you send me a picture of her?”
I smiled to myself. Just a week earlier I never would have dreamed I’d be asking my mom to put Alex on our list. Our list was reserved for people who I had fallen in love with as people — those who either impacted me greatly, some who I wanted to cheer for, or people who I hurt for so deeply…
Regardless, they were people that I cared enough about that I recruited my mom — the prayer warrior — to help pray for, & in such a short time, Alex had made the list.
“Yeah, ma — I’ll see what I can do.”
I had a picture…this picture…
It was within the 1st 48 hours of meeting her that I knew Alex would be a forever friend.
We were all upstairs at the cafe & had just finished our 1st day of ministry when she first came into my life. This chick walks up — jeans, tshirt, hoop in her nose, & some pretty sweet tattoos — yeah, no way she’d wanna be friends with me.
Oh, man…God has such a sense of humor.
All it really took was for her to smile. Hers is the infectious sort that — no matter how shy you are — you can’t keep from returning.
She introduced herself & was really chill with everybody, but when I saw that mischievous grin light her face I knew that whatever she was up to, I’d probably want to be part of it. It got even more fun when I realized that she had a 6 year old mini-me. Trip might be a dude, but he was for sure her little guy with that same grin that makes you wonder what he’s up to…
Probably just making you think you have something on your shirt so he can convince you to look down & he can get your nose, but still… 🙂
Though we had met briefly earlier that day, I really got to know Alex on the pier as we passed out Chinese Bibles at night. That girl had a fire inside her to give away the Word of God that was almost as contagious as her smile. She’d make as much eye contact as possible within the crush of tourists & when someone took one, there’d be that excited, “yeeeeees!” or a hearty pat on their back. She loved this ministry & I loved seeing her in action. Especially because at times she & Trip would pass them out together, & that was so precious I wanted to melt. See for yourself.
I hope I’ll get to do something that awesome with my own kiddos some day.
But as Alex & I got talking, I saw her heart very quickly & I knew that this wasn’t a surface-y I-just-met-you sorta chat. We were actually gonna do the heavy hitting right at the beginning of our friendship & I was so down for that.
It was the first time that I have ever been able to talk about my baggage with a near stranger. For years I could barely talk about it with people who love me dearly, but here was this chick I had just met & though I was scared, I also wasn’t at all. Alex felt like a safe place in the midst of my healing process & it felt so good to share the shame of my past without feeling condemned.
But that’s Alex. She not only accepted where I was at, she gave me confidence that this was exactly what my soul needed. She showed me the tattoo on her left arm & shared with me its meaning.
It’s from a song called “Crimson Cord” about the beauty of the painful things in our lives that God has redeemed. How, though there may be deep or ugly scars, we can wear them without shame, knowing that their healing is a sign to the world of what Jesus has done for us. They all point back to Him. Well…that’s how I see it at least. Alex can explain it better…or just listen to the song 😉
By the time we were finishing up with Bibles, I knew that this was a friendship I’d fight for. Thankfully I didn’t have to because Alex was in. She felt it too…she said the next night that we were soul sisters. I liked that. Aside from long time buddies, I don’t think I’m the kind of person people think of that way. But here comes Alex who already knows about my baggage & is actually more interested in pursuing friendship because of it. Her courage to be forthright even gave me the boldness I needed when I was on the pier talking to perfect strangers about Jesus.
& that’s been the whole rest of our friendship. Every time we’ve talked I’ve wished we had more time. I even broke my, “I don’t celebrate my birthday without my family” dogma & Alex & I went out & had coffee together for my 31st. I will never not miss my family, but having Alex helped me be okay.
We did my 2 favorite things — goofed off & dug deep. I had saved up before the race so that I could get a couple tattoos & she had a blast laughing at me being nervous when I decided to get one on my birthday. It’s my second tattoo, but this was a traditional Thai bamboo tattoo, so it was a bit nerve wracking. But it was great & I love it & that Alex was with me for it.
So why the title “blood sisters”?
Good question 😉 But you should know that the purpose of this blog is 3 fold:
1 – If you’ve been praying for me, you can see how Alex has been such a huge answer to anyone praying encouragement, sharpening, & inspiration over me, so yay for answered prayer!
B – So you can pray for me going forward. I want to make more of these kinds of friends & I want to be this kind of friend. This friendship has drastically affected my race because it pushes me closer to Jesus & I want to do the same for others.
& finally — to encourage you, no matter your age! — to seek these kinds of iron sharpens iron relationships. Alex isn’t just a soul sister — our connection is so deep because of the blood of Jesus Christ. His redemption has rocked our worlds & we speak of it often because it is everything & we don’t wanna lose sight of Him — our bond. We share our stories & show our scars to build each other up. Jesus’ blood has made us irrevocable blood sisters & I love that.
Sometimes when we meet somebody there’s a cool connection but it stops there. Not this friendship. Already I have been inspired by the way Alex lives to tell my story & to not let shame keep me from going forward. I’ve already noticed myself being so much more bold & willing to share my past to help others with their own struggles, & I know God gave me Alex to help that process happen.
This is the kind of friend everybody should have — the kind who loves you where you are but is always inviting you higher, just like Jesus does. I’m pretty blessed to have found that in Thailand.
Alex & I got to spend the majority of my last full day in Pattaya together & it was phenomenal. She took me to this wicked cool place that I will be forever in love with called Sketchbook & we had the most amazing hazelnut lattes in the world. & then I got to give her my giving key, which will be explained in a later post, I promise.
But to wrap this post up, the truth is that I never dreamed Alex would be someone I would be close to. She’s super cool & I’m…me. So how could the bond be that intense?
Simply the blood of Jesus Christ & an open heart. My life has been changed for the good by this beautiful friendship. I want to challenge you to look for similar bonds with your brothers or sisters…the bond of blood — of redemption — runs deep & is so worth pursuing.
Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life for us & for allowing me to meet this precious blood sister along the way. Because of You we are redeemed & made whole. Thank You for my sister. Thank you for Your blood.
