TODAY is March 1 - a day I have been celebrating for over a decade - the day on which my World Changers best friend has her birthday and is older than me for a total of 11 days. Today I got to talk to sweet Sara on the telephone for a few minutes and it was SO GOOD for my soul. We haven’t seen each other since June 2015 and we miss each other for sure, but we have learned through the years how to cherish each other and carry on from afar. We are super close with the voicemail lady (she is sometimes a hag, she likes to cut you off, interrupt you, abruptly end your call, etc.) and we send each other cards and packages, we talk of airline miles and dream of adventuring together.
Throughout the years the Lord has been abundantly gracious and allowed us to get ridiculously carsick, airplane sick, and boat sick all in the name of BEING TOGETHER and I honestly wouldn’t change a single experience. In the words of PLUS ONE (the Christian boy band of the 2000’s) “for you I’d take the last flight out.”
In honor of today and how special my sweet Sar is, I decided to look back, and spend a few moments remembering (and laughing) at some of my favorite memories with my best friend…
>> Sara and I met in Shreveport, Louisiana the summer of 2004 - I was on WC Summer Staff and she was there to help the Project Coordinator Shawn Doss as we worked with teens from across the country as they poured their hearts into construction projects in the hottest hot of summer to help low-income families see the love of Jesus. OH MY GOSH we laughed so hard that first week we shared together. One of my teammates, Nathan was a vegetarian and when he fell asleep on a pile of t-shirts and there were leftover steaks in the fridge we couldn’t help ourselves but slide one right under his cheek - he didn’t wake up thrilled but we videotaped the entire encounter - it was worth it. Shawn tried desperately to sleep in one morning - I mean he went all out - to the extent that he hung aluminum foil in his windows to block the sun. So we pulled the Tahoe right up to his door and laid on that horn. If we had to get up with the kids, so did he. We ate ham bread for about 3 days straight and then realized there was an Arby’s at the bottom of the hill - we went to Arby’s for the next 7 days and I still don’t regret it. And we will NEVER forget PSSSSSADAS - literally the best mexican food in Louisiana.
>> I somehow got assigned to Shreveport, Louisiana again in summer 2005 as well so Sara came back with Shawn and we gave her the honorary title, Transition Coordinator. Again, the laughter COULD NOT BE CONTAINED. Because we had worked together the summer before and were familiar, someone thought we were worthy of being handed keys to a golf cart that year. FALSE. When the pizza and cinnastix for the entire crew arrived but then the cinnastix were no where to be found, well, I could have told you where to find them - because Sara and I ate them ALL - we hid them in the t-shirt closet so we enjoyed cinnastix all day. OH MY GOSH we had so much fun.
>> In 2006 Sara and I were on World Changers Summer Staff TOGETHER! We were both Office Managers and got into all kinds of trouble at training. Bryant Laird and Ashley thought it would be a genius idea to separate us so we’d be quiet. Little did they know we would just talk louder, or chat on IM via our computers. We won every round of fact or crap, and will never forget our fellow staffer who asked us (legitimately asked us) “how do you open a flip phone” bless her heart.
>> 2007 brought SEVERAL memories of Sara - I think we saw each other a record 3 times that year! Our first reunion was in January when I flew out for coordinators retreat and my sweet friend drove several hours just so she could pick me up from the airport to hug me - literally - she is THAT dear. That spring brought her FIRST trip to California! We attempted to get on The Price is Right and failed but thoroughly enjoyed our day in Santa Monica and met the VERY WORST Cinderella of ALL time at a CBU tradition - Recess. That summer we both returned to Georgia for summer staff training (and spend our very last summer working for World Changers). At the end of the summer Sara actually came back to GA for my debriefing and we spent a few days together in August getting manicures and pedicures, sipping cocktails (because we weren’t on staff anymore) keeping Susan Whitley up late into the night even though she was officially an adult and working at her big girl job at NAMB, eating donuts (the spinks mix) and soaking up as much time as possible knowing we didn’t know WHEN we would see each other next…that goodbye was enormously difficult.
>> In 2008 Sara came to California AGAIN! She is a gem! I was working on my masters so I couldn’t travel because of my rigorous class schedule and international study program in Oxford, but sweet Sara still made me a priority. We started the trip with pedicures - and as I recall THAT was the pedicure where they lined the tub with a garbage bag - that felt sketchy. So I made up for it by taking her to Disneyland for the VERY FIRST TIME (the first thing we did was eat ice-cream. Seriously - that’s just us!) Also on that trip I took her on the walk of stars and we saw WICKED.
>> Perhaps one of our very BEST adventures came in summer 2009 when I graduated with my MBA and she finished her bachelors - naturally we gifted each other a cruise. I flew to Alabama and we sailed to the Caribbean. We watched “tan pants” dance and it was horrifically hilarious. We snorkeled (and the photographer made us hold hands - what?) and almost died in the heat of the ruins of Tulum (we HATE ruins). We took pictures on the ship as the breeze blew through our tassels and legitimately celebrated together - it was all kinds of glorious and I was SO proud to be there next to her in such a highlight moment of our lives.
>> In 2010 Sara came BACK to California a 3rd time and we beached…then hit the rainbow outlet…my favorite place to see the sunset on this planet - Carlsbad - the Carlsbad outlets and then made our way to San Diego to meet the parental units - it was time. We ate froyo at The Yogurt Mill - a must do when visiting east county and we said goodbye far too quickly.
>> 2011 brought my turn to see Sara’s homeland so off to Sweet Home Alabama I went! We headed straight to Gulf Shores for some fun in the sun (a totally different kind of sun than you typically have in California, so this little white girl got her a burn and not a lovely tan like her best friend Sar). And then spent some time in NOLA because it will ALWAYS have a piece of my heart (+ there is Cafe Du Monde with iced cafe au lait and beignets!) plus Shawn Doss was there for a Hope Mission Trip so we had to show some support. It was a WONDERFUL trip - they’re always way too good.
>> In 2012 Sar came to CA AGAIN (we did a lot of back and forth for years y’all - we really did get good at it). We headed back to The Diz and then saw Hairspray, we ate and lazed around a lot actually - we had hit the point where it was so good to just be together we didn’t really even care what we did, we just wanted to talk and catch up and be face to face.
A lot of life happened between that trip and 2015 when we saw each other the next time. My brother joined the army and moved to Hawaii, so my vacation time quickly became allotted to traveling to hug nieces and love on family. Sara and I both got crazy busy jobs and adult life got real in a seemingly different way. We loved each other the same, but our face to face time definitely dwindled. In 2015 the Lord was generous beyond measure and allowed Sar to have her gastric sleeve surgery in Orange County and I got to stand by her side through the entire experience. It was a joy and an honor to hold her hand and pray for her in those moments before and after - I would have never imagined I would get to be next to her for that, but God sees far beyond what we ask - and gave us a good gift in that time.
I’m not entirely sure when we will hug next, but my goodness just hearing her voice on the phone makes my heart sing His praises. A friendship over a decade strong - built on the firm foundation of serving Christ together - loving well despite the distance - hearing each other’s hearts first and showing up in whatever means possible. It is a beautiful thing to be a dear friend - and Sara is one of the very best! Happy Birthday Sar! Cheers to 31!
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