the kind of girls you need

Every Tuesday night I sit at a table in a little restaurant and bear witness to a miracle.

Every-week-miracles aren’t easy to come by in this cynical world, which makes the holy ground on Tuesdays at La Madeleine even more spectacular.

There we sit, ordinary women, flawed and fabulous, accepting one another, cheering each other on, and praying for God to move in each other’s lives. No mean girls. No keeping up with the Joneses. No flippant fakeness keeping reality at arm’s length.

There is nothing more beautiful in all the world than that table of women.

Maybe it’s the fireplace and the mugs of cocoa overflowing with whipped cream. Perhaps it’s because we all drag in there, burdened from crazy people, loud kids, and flying monkeys chasing us through the day. It’s possible that it is our prayers, our deep need for God, and our genuine willingness to let it all hang out that makes the time between 7:30 and 9:30 pm holy and magical with Jesus rainbows.

I don’t know how it happens, exactly. But I know these are the kind of girls you need in life.

We are the truth-tellers, the encouragers, the wayward hearts, the wise counsel, the broken hearted, and the faithful. All of us are all of these things to each other.

We are Marthas turned into Marys, and we gather together at the feet of our Lord to pour out our best for Him.

I hope this lasts forever. I hope I always have girls around me who will hold me up and hem me in, who will listen to my heart and point me to God.

Here’s to all the girls out there who love Jesus more than the pretty things, more than the perfect facade, more than a good drink, a great man, and a gorgeous face. You are all miracles. 

Go ahead and dazzle us with your love for God. You are just the kind of girl the world needs.

And if you’re ever in Austin on a Tuesday night? Well, there’s always more room at our table.