Beka

I was hiding in the back of the closet. Behind the bagged-up wedding dress, my grandmother's fur coat, and some forgotten summer dresses, that's where I sought refuge. I always find solace in the strangest of places.

Then she called, her name glowing on my cell phone screen like a ghost passing by. Up until that moment, her name was not on my recent calls list. In fact, it had been several months since we had gone our separate ways.

Pain.
Differences.
Broken hearts.

We had boarded up the door of friendship that had once been "under construction." It was abandoned, collecting dust.

Until her name glowed in blue. I knew why she was calling. Her pain brushed next to mine, its jagged edges still healing.

"You just need to know, 
no matter what happens, 
you will be ok."

And I wept. By my grandmother's faux fur. By the summer dresses that once soaked up sun. By a dress that now was a stinging reminder of rejection.

Fast forward 16 months or so, and we sit across from one another in a hotel room. Girlfriends have gathered to celebrate new things with me. To breathe life where I feel stale. She hands me a ring that they all purchased together.

"Something that was made beautiful by hammering. By refining. By pressure and hard hand-crafting." I look at their faces, and weep. She continues, "So when you look at it, you'll remember us. You'll remember this time of life. That beauty comes from pain. And we're with you every step of the way."

And she adds... "and every true southern girl needs to own a James Avery piece."

This is a girl who is so beautifully different and similar to me, it's just funny. From this New York girl's perspective, she's a Southern Belle. She's beautiful. Gentleness and sweetness fill her speech and smiles, but don't be fooled... She's not afraid to put someone in their place just when you least expect it. It's just right.

If you were to spend 15 minutes with her, you would hear her confidence, her steady reliance on Grace, and the deep, proven love she has for her husband and her super-gorgeous blue-eyed baby girl. Her roots go deep. Deep down through pain, rejection, self-doubt, and searching, right down to the core of a girl who is someone you want on your team.

So meet Beka. If you ever find yourself crying in the back of a dusty closet, I hope someone like her lights up your phone. If not, I'm sure she would say the same to you...
"No matter what happens, no matter what...
you
will
be
ok."

This barefoot, mountain-loving, cloth-diapering, rough around the edges yankee girl loves you lots!