how i met my mer.

there are people that come and go in your life, and then there are the people that come and stay. the ones that share life with you. that open up their hearts and let you in. they laugh and cry with you. they share the big moments and little moments in life.  pretty soon they aren't just friends anymore. they're family.

mer is one of those people.

i met mer, like i met my best friend, at eagle lake camp. i still remember the night we met. mer is bruce's (beth's husband's) cousin, and he and beth had driven down the mountain to pick mer up at the airport to bring her back up to camp. she was one of the last campers to arrive that night. i remember thinking she was taller than i had imagined she'd be, i really hoped she'd be placed in my bible study, and i immediately wanted to be best friends.

wouldn't you know, mer WAS placed in the bible study i led that summer. we became friends very quickly (camp tends to do that to people.) mer was one of those friends i felt i had known my entire life. i was sad that she would have to head back to texas as the first five weeks of camp slipped away. after a lot of prayer and talking to her family, mer decided to stay at camp for the entire summer. beth and bruce and i were ecstatic! mer? at camp for the whole summer? it was like christmas in july! ;)

Jesus gave me the sweetest friend and sister that summer. we grew in our friendship and in our relationships with Jesus. when camp ended, we headed our separate ways. i went home to tennessee and mer went home to texas to start college. she ended up getting to come with a group of us to the Passion Conference in atlanta in 2012 and then headed back to work at camp as a counselor that next summer! little did she know what path that summer would lead her down. she and dave were on staff together and started dating towards the end of the summer, they dated long distance over the school year, worked at camp again the next summer, mer moved to minnesota to be closer to dave, and they just got engaged in may! whew. what a whirlwind!

it has been such a beautiful thing to see mer walk through the last three years. to see her go from being a girl fresh out of high school, to leading younger girls in the Word and their walks with Jesus, to moving away from home, to starting the journey of dating her first boyfriend and getting engaged to him. it has been so encouraging to see how she has weathered all of these changes and strived to always keep her focus on Jesus. i feel so honored that i have gotten to be a part of her journey here on earth, so grateful the Lord blessed me with her friendship three years ago, and so excited to see the plans He has for her future.no matter the miles or the distance, mer is a friend that is always there. whether it's a hand written note, a thoughtful gift, an encouraging text, or a late night phone call, her friendship is intentional. it's those people that are always reaching out and continually inviting others in that warm my heart. to me, that is a beautiful picture of community and friendship. one i am incredibly thankful for.