Friends for Life

I have been friends with Becky for over a decade.  We met at church, where she was the leader of a Bible study I was in.  At the time, she was newly married, with no children, and I was still in college.  Marriage and children for me seemed very far off at the time.  Even though she was only a few years older than me, we were in very different stages of life, and because of that, I never would have thought that she would be more than just a casual acquaintance from church.  Fast forward to today, and she has been a mentor, role model, best friend, and someone with whom I share all the ups and downs of life.  She prayed that Caleb, Wren and Judson would come into our family - probably more than we did.  She met us as we came home with Caleb for the first time - weary from traveling with a newborn.  She was with us as Wren and Judson came into the world.  I can still hear her saying to me, "You can do this, Alicia."  When I want to quit or cry or both because of the burdens of life, she tells me to do the next thing.  I couldn't imagine life without her and her encouragement. 
And her sweetness and encouragement don't stop with her.  Her daughter Anna has the sweetest and most gentle spirit.  She loves Jesus, and that love overflows in love and kindness for other people.  She is a hard worker and a model of Godly character.  Like her mom, she's beautiful, inside and out.
When I was in labor at the hospital, Anna sent me this letter:

 On the back, she wrote two verses, one of which was the verse her mother used when she was in labor with Anna and the other was the one I had chosen to help me.

Then when we returned home from the hospital, she came to visit and gave me this letter:

[I still can't believe I have three children either, Anna!]

While she was visiting, she held Wren, something that she had been looking forward to.  Can't you just see the pure joy on her face?

Even though she's older than Wren, I pray that Anna would be a role model for Wren and that they would grow to be close friends, as her mother and I are.  Who knows?  Maybe 20 years from now, we'll have a picture of Wren holding Anna's new baby...