The Power of a Female Pack

I am not saying that I need a lot of girlfriends to survive. I am just saying that there are reasons women travel in packs to the restroom, there are motivations for why we call each other for a brief 90-minute chat about our feelings and dreams, there's a primal urge we feel to connect when life deals another blow.

We may not need each other, technically, to survive. But without positive female interaction, we wither like a geranium in the high desert. Our energy wanes. Our creativity drains. Our lifeforce dwindles.

There is power in the female pack.

That's never been more obvious to me than it was this morning at a brunch of eight amazing women in their 30s and 40s. I was visiting from out of town, looking back on some rare and beautiful friendships, wishing I could cling to these girls and do life with them on a daily basis. Wishing I could pack up the energy swirling, whirling around the room and take it back to my little home, a state away. There was power in the conversation, as it quickly flitted from our husband's snoring, fertility and hormones, life dreams, health problems, apparent miracles in 2008, the power of faith, and the zany ways God provides for us--the ways we know that we can keep trusting him through it all.

I'm here to testify, I felt the power of the female pack. And as respect flowed around the table, mingling with genuine affection, a few tears appeared. Delighted exclamations, too. Nods and encouraging words. Graciousness and laughter. Friendship and fellowship. Precious and potent.

I

miss

my

friends.

Not too long ago, I read a book about relocation. It said that I must learn how to transition to my new life, and there is one thing that would help me: discover the difference between clinging and cherishing. Clinging to the old life I had will not help as I seek to build the new one. I have to let go to grasp something new. But, cherishing, that's another matter. Cherishing allows me to thank God with fondness for the deep and beautiful relationships he has woven into my past. While anticipating the new things he is doing in my future.

That's where I want to be--and who I want to be. But for today, I smile and sigh, and am a little amazed at the energy and warmth generated by today's female pack of 8. Thank God for shared sisterhood. Thanks for the ability to even cherish something so precious.