Snuggled in Safety; Friendship.

My college friends are all still snuggled cozily in their beds, nestled between layers of blankets and the love that only these years of friendship entail. I wake this morning with thoughts treading through my head, and the gift of them in my house.

It is a gift, this sincereity of friendship. The hugs, the laughter, the questions we all ask each other. We continue to prod each other along. Seeking out the deepest heart of each other. Calling ones name even closer to the God of us all. How our layers all shed as we enter another's presense.

George Elliot once wrote: "Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindess, blow the rest away."

His words bring to language these friends of mine who savor their Saturday morning sleep. They are my "sifters", my safety. They are my sounding board. The are the ones who listen intently to my life ideas and offer only the needed remarks. They are the ones who press me to take the couragous way. Who challenge the ideals I thought were true. Who lead me on into to the Morning Light. They are my friends.