Five minutes from my friend

"Five minutes," it read. 

"Take five minutes to yourself, write something from your heart. Don't think about it. Just do it. Just five minutes."

My friend sent me those words in a text today. This friend, this treasure of a woman I rarely get to spend time with, quiet possibly the friend I spend the least amount of time with, is what "Anne with an E" of Green Gables would call - a kindred spirit. She is this beautiful, gracious, Proverbs 31 lady and just being around her or reading her words make me thankful that God allowed our life paths to cross back years ago.

The two of us share a love for words. Reading them, writing them, muddling through them and finding ones that pierce the soul. Oh how she writes! When I read her words it is an escape. She knows how to write in such a way that the reader can hear, taste and feel every letter of detail. Her writing takes me away from my current circumstances and places me right beside her. 

She knows how much I love to write and how very little I do of it. Her prompting to take just five minutes did me a world of good. It reminded me that I can take the time to empty my word bank and just how good I feel after doing so. 

Originally this blog was to be just that. A creative place for my thoughts, words and stories. While I am so happy that I have kept at blogging all these years, I have ended up putting my efforts into posting photos and documenting the events of our lives. And that is okay, it is the time of life I am in. A beautiful time, but I miss having taking the time to find the combination of words to describe the details of our days. I write the basics but forfeit the heart. It takes time. Precious time and a good deal of effort. Most of all, emotion - and that I often am unwilling to commit to. Writing stirs up in me a plethora of emotions. It is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much, but also one of the things that cause me to hesitate.

God has planted my garden of friends with seeds from many different walks of life. This friend, she is one of the only seeds who shares my affection for writing. I so treasure this about her!

Today, at just the right moment - when my spirit was in need of a lift, she gave me just that. 

So, I did it - Five minutes!

Thank you for your encouragement, Pat - you mean the world to me!

DISCLAIMER: it might have been more like 45 slightly interrupted, loud minutes with 4 kids running amuck in the house, but you were right, I needed it.