In this blog post, I celebrate the gift of friendship.

I am grateful to have been blessed with several deep friendships, some for a season and others forever—or forty years and counting!

On July 1st, 1984, I was gifted two bosom buddies.

As Canada celebrated with fireworks, its anthem, and everything red and white, a baby tried to push her way ahead of her sister.

That baby was the beautiful Kimberley Louise…

…and her gorgeous sidekick, Colleen Judith!

They made it out safe and sound, thanks to a C-section, and we became nursery buddies at church.

I was four months ahead, so let’s not talk about how they ended up a whole grade ahead and were in university at barely 17!

At church, they either donned fancy dresses for the morning service, sent by their great aunts from Eastern Canada, or jogging suits for the evening service, hair stretching down their backs.

They remember sitting at the round tables with their parents while the other children ran the outer hallway and hid under the stairs at fellowship.

Even so, they grew up near a ravine with plenty of time for breaking arms and exploring God’s playground with their homeschool lifestyle.

I remember them climbing wood piles at our acreage, and enjoying endless crazy activities at youth or church family camp.

This photo is from my eleventh birthday party, where we had a tea party in our fancy dresses (I am still learning to keep my eyes open for photos).

Their childhood birthday parties had a little more action, with shaving cream, razors, balloons, and a garden hose to wash it away and cool us down as we frolicked in our swimsuits.

I slept over at their home several times, laying between their beds on the floor shivering, as a cool night was the right price in their parent’s minds, and I didn’t think to ask for another blanket.

I loved how their parents always involved me in conversations by asking my opinion, making me feel like my young voice mattered.

I trusted these girls with my reflections from my first international mission experience at age twelve. They had the capacity and grace to hear my spiritual encounters at an age when most kids didn’t have this language or understanding.

The years went on, and our friendships ebbed and flowed through the awkwardness of junior high and high school.

For a season, Kim and I bonded over Sunday afternoon phone conversations, talking about boys and dating after our “purity under pressure” group met each week.

Colleen and I found a synergy as camp counsellors at an inner-city summer camp.

We even had another dress-up tea party, this time as young adults.

Colleen expressed her deep sensitivity to people by becoming a nurse and working with the church youth group, another place where we worked together and bonded!

She also worked on a master’s in youth ministry until marriage, and five babies in a very short time halted that endeavour.

Kimberley expressed her love for learning and communicating, becoming a teacher, and later completing a master’s in marriage and family therapy.

This picture is from Kim’s graduation! Colleen and I are pictured with two babies each and counting.

But that is getting ahead of things.

There were engagements, bridal, showers, stagettes and weddings…

Kim paved the way!

Benj and I started dating weeks after Tim and Kim tied the knot and were engaged a little over a year later!

Here is their whole family at our wedding photo booth.

Jesse and Colleen were engaged a month later.

Kim had her first baby when Colleen and I had our third.

It was super fun to be due within three weeks of each other…

Faith and Gregory were only four days apart!

And oh so quickly, we had our own stroller, biker gang! With thirteen children combined.

Long after Colleen and I had packed away the crib and diapers, Kimberley was blessed with a baby girl!

Despite all the changes in our families, we made time to connect as just girls.

There were coffees or park dates, brunches, road trips, thrift shops, and Colleen's favourite, kayak dates!

Through COVID, we kept a bond, chatting on video calls and even around a fire at -40 degrees (with the wind chill), sipping hot chocolate as our children played in the backyard.

We were crazy and resilient together.

There were struggles in our hearts and lives, but we always had a landing place to connect and remember God’s faithfulness with our Christmas and birthday brunches.

They came to my door the night my dad was diagnosed after I had shed many tears, carrying a box of food, a soft blanket, and other things to remind me that I would not do this hard journey alone.

Over the following four months, they cried tears for me and with me and even for themselves because they knew and loved my dad, too.

This love felt so tangible.

Somehow, here we are, in the middle years, where life is so full, and friendships can be hard to sustain, let alone start, so I cherish what we have.

I am grateful that these women have grown with me.

We have changed, and we will keep changing.

Here is a photo of us at my fortieth birthday in February.

Four months later, our annual birthday date took us to Brew and Bloom with a special touch from Love’s Pure Light as they opened their handpainted silk scarves.

Their scarves are a reminder of their uniqueness and God’s goodness. I also brought mine, the one I wrote about in Deeply Rooted!

Kimberley’s scarf showcases her favourite flower, a peony, which symbolizes a pillow of comfort, which she provides for so many clients, and reflects her eye for beauty and talent to create masterpieces with her hands. Have you seen her cakes?

Colleen’s scarf reflects an archway of love, guiding her into a new season like the Israelite’s promised land after forty years, and reflects her love for the details of nature and her heart to show God’s abundant love practically to others with her investment of time and care to so many in deep need.

I guess you know you are a child of the 90s when you quote Michael W. Smith in two blog posts in a row, but these sweet words from years gone by ring true today:

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end

Kim & Col,

I could have shared many more sweet photos and memories from our years of friendship!

We have been blessed. Thank you for traveling life with me for forty years.

I wish you both the happiest birthday and many more years of living out God's adventure.

Thank you for being faithful, forever friends and showing me God’s love, hope, and goodness whenever the world’s darkness tries to overshadow it.

I love you both to the moon and back,

Char

Happy 40th Birthday!