a gathering of wonderful women

Let me tell you a little bit about Lizzie.

 

We met via e-mail before we began university, connected through a Christian Student Network to put you in touch with fellow Freshers before you even got to university.

Out of this brilliant idea came an even more brilliant friend. During our first year at university we were like peas in a pod. Together, we put the world of children to rights as we studied Early Childhood Studies, spent great times in Uganda, took trips to her parents home when end of year exams were in sight, where we would swing in a hammock under the Summer Sun with a glass of wine after a day of hard revising. (This girl knows how to work hard.)

Together, we learnt how to burn chocolate into a crumbly state & find that it still tasted delicious, how to laugh at lot & how to kill cockroaches, among many other vital life lessons.

Six years ago, from the time we met until now, we would talk about our desire to be wives & share with each other how we prayed that God would be preparing the hearts of our future husbands for us to be their wives. Back then, we had no idea who these men would be.

That has all changed now. Two weeks before I marry John, I will be celebrating with Lizzie at her very own wedding to a wonderful man who has wanted to be with her since they were 15. 
(Their story is a beautiful one, which I might share with you some time. Just to give you a glimpse, when Dave asked Lizzie to be his wife, he sang her a song that he had written, played on the ukulele that she had bought him for Christmas, down on one knee at the beach, and that really is just a glimpse.)


So, this weekend, I journeyed to the Midlands to Lizzie's family home to celebrate with her and the wonderful friends she has made throughout her life, here, there, and everywhere. 

we ate cakes, canapes & coronation chicken 

we drank juice & pimms, wine & champagne

we wrote songs for Lizzie to sing to Dave

we rowed around a lovely lake where the only thing missing was someone reading poetry

we painted aprons & came close to the point of crying with laughter as some of the beautiful ladies stuffed their dainty little mouths with marshmallows in a bid to win chubby bunny

What a great privilege it is to have friends to celebrate life with.