Contagious

Yesterday was the first day of school, which will be reserved for a future post. Some wonderful friends (Vanessa and Grant) here in Wichita invited me over for dinner, so I was happy to oblige. Not having to cook is always a great plan, but don't worry, they are coming over on Saturday to have a fiesta! Anyway, all that is beside the point. After dinner we went to Barnes and Noble to meet some more friends (Luke and Laurel and their foreign exchange student Chris) so that Laurel, Van and I could research Bible studies.

The boys got coffee while we perused the Christian inspiration section, and finally narrowing down some choices we joined the boys in the Starbucks. The next two hours were filled with laughter, teaching Chris to pop straws and all kinds of other noisy activities. At one point I said that we were probably being too loud and might get kicked out. A few minutes later, the girl who was working the counter behind Starbucks came over and had cheesecake samples, which we were happy to take off her hands. As she was standing there she said to us how much she appreciated our laughter. She said that she could tell we were having a great time and that our laughter had made her bad day better.

This stuck with me for some reason. We weren't doing anything out of the ordinary for us, really for me I was just spending time with people who I feel like I am truly in community with, accountable to and just who I can be myself around. Being the "unmarried" of the group has never made me feel uncomfortable or awkward. I can have great conversations with Luke or Grant as well with Van and Laurel. I am so thankful for these friends and their ability to be transparent, and to let me be transparent with them. And I am thankful that we laugh together, lots, and that on one random Thursday night, our laughter brought a smile to another person's face.