J is such an amazing woman who teaches me much about friendship.

She is on this most wondrous journey just now. God laid upon her heart a vision for a thrift store that could serve many purposes to her community and that dream has been fulfilled in a mighty big way. She took one step through an opening He provided her and blessings have been showing down around her ever since. The Lord is very clearly at work in her small corner of Worthington, Ohio. I believe it to be a good work that He is crafting in hercreated in her such a fearless and honest heart.

In short, On Second Thought is a place where you can shop, watch artists at work, meet authors, and hone your writing skills. It is a true haven, with proceeds that benefit, in part, Diabetes and the Church.

Over the course of our friendship, mostly many, many years of keeping in touch across many, many miles, J has sent those wonderful letters of hers. Tales of her family and her life written on bits and pieces of paper collected throughout her days...a menu...a candy wrapper...the back of one of her children's school papers. I've written of them before and have kept each and every one of them. In fact, there is a sheaf of them beside my bed that I peruse from time to time as I try to find sleep on pain-filled days. Just a few words into them and I shed my burden to live in her world for a bit.

Well, she went and sent me a rather wonderful Easter card. The blanks spaces were filled with many words, but that is not all she sent. After reading my post on Earl Grey tea, she searched through her donated tea basket to see if there were any packets. While her preference is decaffeinated tea, she did venture a taste...and pronounced the mug satisfying. She sent the other two bags to me that I might savor both the flavor and the act of friendship. What is precious about J is that she also included the empty tea bag.

What others might view as trash, I saw as a loving reminder that I am thought of and cherished by my dear friend J.