Susie hits the big four-oh today!

I'm told the big four-oh is now the big three-oh. So that means Susie must be reaching her prime.

And I'm not trying to get this to rhyme.

Susie is amazing. She decided to pursue a friendship with me even though she thought I was weird. (I am.)

The first time I saw Susie, she was on stage, worshiping Jesus with every ounce of herself. This petite, spunky blonde chick with sea-blue eyes packed a voice twice the size of her husband, Kendall! Man she could sing!

Immediately I assumed there was no way we could ever be friends. She looked like she could've been the head cheerleader in high school, and the homecoming queen in college. People swarmed around her after the service building on my assumption that she was popular, thus out of reach to someone like me.

There were times I thought she was the quintessential diva.

Assuming is a bad thing. Most of the time our assumptions are way off. Mine were.

About four or five years ago, one of my closest friends moved out of the country. I was crushed. Susie saw me crying as our church bid farewell to my friend and made her way toward me. She told me she'd experienced friends moving on then invited me out to dinner.

Expecting to find one of the "beautiful people" out to do a good deed, I was surprised to find her a humble soul with a soft heart. Even more surprising, we had more in common with each other than we thought.

Over the years our friendship developed. A few years ago when both our worlds were dumped upside down by the Worship Team Disaster, Susie and I clung to each other like life-preservers in an angry sea.

Trials and tragedy strip away the exterior paint we coat ourselves in, baring our true structures. Both of us were radically changed by not only that one event, but two more years of devastation in our personal lives.

Today, Susie is one of my closest friends (I have several) and will be for life. What I love most about her is her spirit of spontaneity. I never know when she and her hubby will show up at my door, or she'll hop out of her convertible and drag me off to places unknown.

Susie is always up for adventure. She views them as a challenge, and puts all her energy into making things happen. She doesn't mind hurtling around Denver at mach 3 (the speed of me)!

Ministering together in Psalm 42 has drawn us even closer as all members of the group face crippling attacks from Satan as he tries real hard to keep us from singing. Her faith amazes me - someone who can stare down a hack ambulance chasing lawyer holding a lawsuit and say, "Eh, God will deal with this!" and find humor in it, inspires me as I face tough times.

God's blessed me with so many friends, it would take me forever a day and a half and then some to write about them.

But today Susie is forty. Don't know how much longer she'll be around ;)

Hafta give her a hard time, especially since I'm 2000 blasted miles away and can't plant a herd of black balloons in her yard!