Katy, Melissa & Angie

Katy, Mel, Ang and I met in 2006 on the Don Miller forum. Katy lives in Oregon, Mel lives in Michigan and Ang lives in Pennsylvania. We all came to the forum thanks to Don's book Blue Like Jazz. We bonded during late nights and silly random conversations. We talked about anything and I immediately felt comfortable, especially with these three in particular and especially Katy.
This past weekend all three of them descended on Cincinnati and my house (along with Jake, Cody and Pete. We are friends that happen to have met on the internet and not get to see each other that much. I love them, the way they encourage not only me but anyone they seem to come in contact with, the way they feel things so deeply and the way they love others so deeply.

Katy and I bonded over You've Got Mail and conversations about nothing in particular. According to her comment here she said that I freaked her out at first because I wanted to come hang out with her in Portland. But I love Portland, I would move there if God wasn't making it painfully clear that my place for now is firmly rooted in Cincinnati. I first met Katy at 4am EST, 1am PST in the Portland airport. I flew out over Labor Day 2007. My visit to Oregon only confirmed what I already knew, that I wanted to live there so much. We wandered around places Don had written about and saw all the beauty that is around there. It was like Katy and I had known each other for decades when I arrived. You wouln't have guessed we had met each other on the internet less than 1 year previous to that.
I love Katy's gentle spirit and the way she sees the world. She sees the world and all it's trauma and ugliness and it breaks her. I can't even really describe it adequetely, only that it seems she sees the world and her heart yells that it's not supposed to be this way. I love the silly things we giggle about and the way we don't have to fill up all the gaps in conversation with words because our hearts seem to sometimes just speak directly to each other.
Katy has taught and is teaching me another way to look at the world. I can be very cynical and cold about a great many things, it's my defense mechanism. I just don't care. If I don't care then it can't hurt. But the deeper my friendship grows with Katy the more I'm realizing that I may not be getting hurt (which isn't actually always true) but I'm also cutting myself off from the hope for how things should be. Katy's teaching me to be more gentle with my words and attitude because I may never know when I come across someone that sees the world as Katy does and my rash actions and words will cut them deeply.

Mel and I met for the first time at IHOP in Perrysburg Ohio right before a terrible snow storm. I was in BG visiting my parents and she was only about an hour away. We chatted about the forum and life in general. I love the way Mel can unpack conversations. The way she sees and calls out the subtext in posts online and even in real life. She hears the things that you don't say and it fascinates me. Mel and I also often find ourselves in awkward situations. Whether it's saying loudly that some fella is cute while he's still within earshot, staring awkwardly at Rob Bell in a Cleveland Starbucks, or dripping margarita on our own shoulder I can see how things happen and realize that I've done the same sort of thing at different times in my life. It cracks us up and we laugh until we can't talk and tears are streaming down our faces.
Mel and I also went on a trip to Tennessee together. I drove to Nashville and picked up a guy from the internet (and lived to tell the story!) and then we picked up Mel and another woman from the forum at the airport. The four of us traveled to Chattenooga and met another man and his wife from the forum and saw Don speak. We had such a blast and ran amuck the whole time. Interspersed with our hilarious antics (the anatomically correct horse at the Nashville TBN studios for example) were these crazy serious conversations about relationships with men and God and figuring out what God is calling us to do with our lives.
I also met up with Mel in Cleveland twice, once at the zoo with Angie and her family and another time with Angie as well to see Rob Bell speak (and to stare at him in Starbucks...not that I'm socially awkward or anything). Each time, including this past weekend has been the same. The way she listens and pulls out depth in even the most seemingly benign conversation amazes me.
Mel has been to Africa on a mission trip and God has just moved so deeply into her heart about serving others through missions work whether locally in Detroit or internationally in Africa. It's been amazing to see her obedience to His call in that and inspiring to get a front seat to the struggle that comes with following what is clearly the movement of God in her life. Mel teaches me obedience and patience, she shows me that I'm not alone in feeling so lost and confused after stepping out towards the call you feel on your life. Just because God is calling you to it doesn't mean you aren't going to be working your way through it and I love that I get to see Mel doing just that and seeing the journey that she is on with God.

Angie and I met for the first time at the Cleveland Zoo. I was in town with another forumite Christopher (the same one I met in Nashville) to see Don speak at a church conference. I also met up with Larry another guy on the forum. The next day Mel and Ang came into town with Angie's family (1 husband, 6 kids) and we played at the zoo. She is teeny tiny and so beautiful. She's full of energy and spunk and she loves her family so much. The 2nd time I met her was outside a Starbucks in Cleveland. She Mel and I were going to see Rob Bell on his "The Gods Aren't Angry" tour. We grabbed some pizza and gawked awkwardly at Rob Bell through the window of Starbucks. Mel may or may not have waved awkwardly at him and pointed to the venue across the street.
I love Angie's honesty. She is the first to tell you she hasn't got it all together, although in my opinion she has it much much more together then she thinks she does. Angie is silly and passionate she has a crazy wild imagination and a not so hot idea of herself (although she's getting better, as all of us on the forum are together) I've bonded with Angie over our shared losses. She's lost people she loved suddenly, as have so many of us. But there was something kindred when Angie shared her story. I admire the matter of fact way she shares such sad events. It's taught me how to step back from the death event and really appreciate the living things about those that I've lost. Angie, like Mel and Katy, has this knack for pulling people out of themselves and getting them to open up. She is kind and compassionate and a very good listener. This past weekend on Saturday night I pulled back a little (being very overstimulated after days of lots of people) and just cleaned up the kitchen. I got a chance to step back and watch all of my friends love on each other. Angie was so amazing asking questions directly and really drawing out the conversation towards deep things, yet somehow also making people laugh so hard. I overheard her talking to her kids and husband on the phone Saturday morning while we were all milling about and it was just so lovely to hear her talk to them. Angie will be the first to tell you she's not perfect, but she's more amazing then she gives herself credit for.

All three of these amazing women had changed who I am. They encourage me and cheer me on. They listen patiently when I'm in the throes of breakdowns and help lift me back up when I stumble. All of this through the internet even. I thank God for these women, that they are in my life and that I get to be a part of the amazing story God is writing for each of them.