image credit

Continuing my series, When life takes you to unwelcome places I want to talk about the importance of friends. Everybody has their own name for their group of friends… my girls, my dudes, my homies, my peeps but when it all comes down to it what you call them is not as important as the fact that you need to call them. I happen to call my friends “my tribe” because like a tribe they truly function as a group of people who have come together for the greater good. My tribe nurtures, encourages, counsels, admonishes, prays and loves me with abandon. These ladies have been my lifeline to sanity, if not for them I do not know how I would have coped some days.

Now my tribe is a little different than most because my tribe is made up of women who I only know through the internet (with the exception of two). As you know I relocated to a new state, meeting people and making friends is not as easy as when we were 5 years old and making a friend was as easy as sharing your toy. Some folks think it a bit strange but  although I have yet to met them in person, they are a part of my heart nonetheless. Each one of them is uniquely different but their common bond is that they walk in truth, integrity and love. Without further ado let me introduce, The Council.

Benita, Aleia, Reiko, Roodlyne, Christa…my tribe, the ones I share my heart with.

Benita is my IRL bestie, she and I bonded over a shared circumstance then expanded our friendship through our mutual journey in ministry, and love for all things Jamaican. We preached our initial sermons the same evening, traveled all over Jamaica looking for the next adventure, married within months of each other then children soon followed. She knows me and all my craziness but still loves me anyway. When she was looking to return to her Southern roots, she headed for Florida, settled in then convinced me to join her. We live 10 minutes away from one another.

Aleia is my sister in truth and love as I call her, she pushes me to accept my calling and destiny then speak my truth always!  I have learned to accept myself in my totality because of her, she makes me feel good about who I am no matter whether I may be right or wrong. Our spiritual journeys are so similar at times that she will write about where she is on the path only to discover I’ve been thinking about the very same thing but didn’t articulate it. Aleia came into my life through a natural hair care forum we both hung out on, we seemed to wind up in the same places on the web and her authenticity spoke to my heart. When she finally stopped globetrotting and just happened to move to the city I lived in, we met for coffee at her beloved Starbucks and haven’t looked back since. If you are on the path to truth, authenticity and enlightenment, Liberation Theory is what you need.

I met Reiko while I was minding my own business just blog surfing and I happened across her blog, God’s Favorite Shoes, honey I read that blog from present to past, every single post and when I was done from that day forward I declared Reiko my friend and set about making it so. Fortunately for me she didn’t think I was a stalker and accepted my offer of friendship with open arms. She’s funny as hell, she calls me to make sure I am getting some Me time as well as get out of the house daily, stylish as all get out and oh so Southern. Two years later she is one of my most trusted friends, I still haven’t met her formally yet but its on the calender for the end of the year and when we get together…let the ratchedness begin, lol.

I never felt such infectious joy than when I started tweeting with Christa! She is pure sunshine, seriously. Her love of life spills onto everything and everyone, she wants to make the world beautiful and if anyone can Christa can. Her blog, Inspired by Beatrice Clay honors her grandmother through living a beautiful life filled with gratitude. She reminds to to stop and smell the roses, tip toe through the tulips and relish the pretty in small things.

This lady here is a new addition to the council but what she brings to my life is invaluable! Roodlyne prays with me and for me.When things are spinning out of control, she reminds me that prayer is in order. She takes praise breaks with me to celebrate God’s goodness manifesting in my life. Her spirit is just sweet, pure and good. She blogs over at Anointed Heels about family, faith and everything in between including pretty shoes.

I read somewhere that you don’t choose but recognize your friends and that statement resonated within my spirit. I now understand why I am so connected with certain people so easily.  There are others who I have a loving affinity for but  we haven’t quite made the jump to friendship yet, some call them”friends in their head”, I call them “friends in my heart”. You’ll be hearing about them starting Wednesday as I am starting a weekly series called Friends in my Heart”. I am celebrating women because it is so hard to be a woman, we need to lift each other up as often as possible. I believe in the sisterhood, so I’m gonna show it!.

Who are the special people in your life? Tell me why they take center stage.

Related articles

• Fashion Break: When life takes you to unwelcome places