connecting with new friends. explaining scars.

i've had really great conversations with friends and strangers lately.

i like when the conversations go beyond shallow and try to answer the "why."

i know this sounds crazy, but i think people who share the same "love languages" are so much easier to be friends with. if you are a "words of affirmation" person, and you meet someone who also is, i think you will fill each other up and encourage each other well... just naturally. there are certain people you meet who you just connect with. you feel like you've known them for years. you feel comfortable. inspired. at home. it's kind of like if you've lived in a foreign country for years, where everyone speaks Italian... and you finally meet someone who speaks English.

this has been happening to me lately. somehow, i've been meeting people who i just feel SO comfortable with. within minutes of meeting them, we are talking about real things. world problems. struggles. goals. dreams. i love it.

these people just accept you immediately. it's the epitome of what friendship and community should be. these people inspire me to love better. go deeper in relationships.

i love it.

Question: Choose a scar you have. Explain how you got that scar.

i don't have a lot of scars. i heal pretty quickly. i didn't get hurt that much when i was growing up (besides floor burns and bruises from playing volleyball). i have a big scar on the palm of my hand, and i have no idea where it came from. here are two scars that i remember:

1. i have one scar on my knee. when i was in elementary school, i played almost every sport (as did many kids): soccer, volleyball, t-ball/softball, basketball, etc. once, during a softball game, i hit the ball pretty hard when i was up to bat. the guy who was on first was completely in my way as i was running to first. being the competitive person i am, i decided it would be a better idea to jump over him (he was crouched down waiting for the ball). well. i jumped. and completely wiped out. i had gravel and rocks stuck in my skin and got a pretty deep cut on my knee. i honestly don't remember if i got to the base on time or not.

2. i have a scar on my big toe. in college, i went on a mission trip to Sarasota. i worked at a ministry for sailors and also spent time completing a huge mural on the side of the building. after work one day, we had about 15 minutes to change and get ready to go to dinner. we were going to eat at a pretty nice restaurant ON the beach. somehow, i sliced my big toe open on a sharp, broken metal piece of my suitcase while running around to get ready. it would not stop bleeding... at all. i still went to the restaurant (with my toe wrapped in a hundred bandaids). i even went swing dancing in the sand as the sun set. probably a poor choice. we got home and my toe was bleeding through everything... so i had to go to the ER. we waited foreverrr. they cleaned it out and couldn't do stitched because of the way my toe got cut, so they put some skin glue over it. it was quite a night. i think we got home at 3 or 4 am. (: