trivia night at Finnegan's?

It's Wednesday, around two in the afternoon. In another couple of hours, a friend of mine will text me, "Trivia night at Finnegan's?" And I'll text back, "Prayer meeting at JRA?" We'll both laugh, and keep our plans. It's a thing we have.

I don't appreciate this enough: my friends are cool. They don't have to be cool. They could judge me in the way that they have felt judged. But they don't.

I say that I went to a dripping-pink women's conference at a southern, conservative megachurch. They wince, but affirm my telling of the "good parts." I decline Saturday night plans to instead go to bible study. They grumble, but agree that the premise of the study (Old Testament rabbinic perspectives) is cool. I struggle aloud with God, and they sometimes struggle with me.

These friends don't share my beliefs. I am sure that I am foolish to them at times. And neither of us are perfect. I get antsy with them, and think or speak arrogantly towards their ideas. They get fed up with me, and do the same.

But, by and large, they accept who I am becoming, without a lot of waffling over how our friendship will be affected. We are friends. We share love. We've shared life. And we will, indefinitely. That is so awesome.

Sometimes I put a very fine point on living in two worlds. It can be hard. Lonely, yeah. Then also, a tremendous blessing.