fri.ster.hood.

I had the privilege of meeting a number of wise individuals around this time last year. One in particular was a man with a gift at capturing the intimate stories of International Justice Mission clients through photography. He said this in reference to years of his time spent building relationships with perfect strangers and I will never forget it:

In the truest of relationships I’ve known, one does not run from the pain and one does not hesitate to share in the celebration of a gift. We hide neither from the hurt nor shield ourselves at a safe distance from the remote possibility of dreams come true. We embrace life. 

-Ted Haddock

Finding that your heart has made a quantum leap into the heart of another person is a fine thing. It's love; something that this world at times does not give even in family relationships. But its something miraculous I've found in my own, in friendships free of obligation and only with the expectation that all parties will venture deeper into truth and authenticity. Much beyond commonality, these kind of relationships are not only forged in shared happiness, but in moments of pain too. 


This is the first published account of the friend-sisterhood that is more aptly named: the fristerhood. Though we do not all fit into the same pair of traveling jeans, we do go to great lengths with whatever means of transportation just to be near one another. And we eat cheese, lots of cheese. Ours is a never-ending story, lived out in hilarity and bedtime stories told to the youngest members (two of which pictured above)enlighten us with silly antics and emerging personalities. We share our favorite things,our hand-me-downs and our opinions with or without request.

Shared life is good life. This is what I've found. Let the fristerhood unite more often than separate!