The One with a Kindred Spirit

Have you ever met a kindred spirit?

A person with whom you seemed to connect fully. 

One who is so much like you, 

yet different enough to strengthen you by their friendship. 

Someone you can't believe you haven't known your whole life? 

This has happened to me once or twice. 

And what a blessing it is. 

It's like finding the friend you were meant to share life with. 

I found one of my kindred spirit friends a few weeks ago. 

She's a youth pastor's wife. 

So right off the bat, we have common ground.

Youth ministry is a unique life, 

one which only those living it can fully understand.

Her husband is awesome. 

He and Kevin get along swimmingly--

which is an amazingly exciting occurrence in and of itself. 

They have similar passions, 

and deep thought processes. 

I might even say they're both nerdy without being dorks about it. 

Make sense? 

No? 

What I mean is they love to think and learn and process. 

And to share these thoughts with others who understand. 

But they manage to do all of that without living the life of a dork.

They're like ninja nerds. 

Ok, maybe that's taking it a bit far. 

But the point I'm trying to make is, these two guys could really be great friends. 

After the initial introductory, superficial encounters, my new friend and I learned so much about each other.

We both prefer deep conversations and intimate friendships, 

to having lots and lots of people around and constantly making small talk. 

We are scrapbookers. 

And bloggers. 

And runners. 

(Well...like I said the other day, I'm not really a runner. 

But I run. Sort of.) 

She's inspiring to me. 

She didn't start running until college and now she runs lots of competitive races and averages a 6 minute mile.

Woah!

I'll attribute that speed to her long legs and her stereotypical runner figure. 

I have neither. 

But I do have the will to keep fit. 

And she's really made me realize you can do that no matter what stage of life you're in. 

She had a baby 10 months ago, 

and you'd never know it. 

She said she ran every day of her pregnancy,

up to and including the day she gave birth. 

I think that's totally awesome. 

And speaking of her little boy, Isaac just about captivates me.

I've never seen a happier baby. 

I held him and played with him for a bit, and we had the greatest time together. 

After spending an hour sharing our hearts with one another, 

my new friend and I both expressed our desires to be next door neighbors. 

We both knew this wasn't just a passing friendship.

And it's too bad we live an hour and a half from each other. 

But we exchanged numbers. 

And promises to get together. 

And sure enough just 2 days later, she had invited Kevin and I to dinner. 

I can't wait to get together with them again!

True friends revive the spirit.