The Nilla Wafer...

I am blessed with crazy, awesome friendships. (That could be the beginning, middle and end of this post, really). I am so grateful for the precious friends in my life...near and far!


Through an amazing set of circumstances, I have come into a special group of friends. They are artists, sisters, joy givers, creators and true Southern Girls! For the last few years, we have gotten together for dinner and card making once a month. It is a time I look forward to each month. There are some Fridays that my spirit just aches to get to where they are. We laugh, cry, tease and encourage one another. Each one an artist...pushing my creative boundaries to new depths.



Last Friday was no different. Each girl had designed and made a card that we in turn made. (At the end of the night we all leave with 6 different handmade cards). At each "station" I had such an overwhelming sense of love and being loved. Each card was a reflection of the girlfriend who made it, and her love for us.


Tammy made the night extra special by bringing her "Now Famous!" banana pudding to celebrate birthdays. As we gathered around a simple table, we drank in laughter, as well as hot coffee. We found comfort in each others words, as well as in the pudding.


For a few hours, in the company of "sisters", we found shelter from the sorrow of a recently lost spouse and friend, the responsibilities of a special needs child, the pressures of business, the tugging of personal situations that are fresh on our hearts...We found shelter from a busy world.


Tammy shared her recipe with us. (It was so good that I stopped by the super market on the way home to get the ingredients.) I wanted to make this for friends stopping by our Hamewith, to find shelter, and wonderful comfort.


Ashley and I made this recipe over the weekend...


*1 box instant vanilla pudding
*1 cup of water
*6 oz. cool whip
*6 oz. sour cream
*1 can sweetened condensed milk


Combine together in a mixing bowl. Put a layer in the bottom of a glass bowl. Top with sliced bananas and Nilla wafers. Repeat. Top with a layer of the pudding mixture. Refrigerate.


This is when I began to think about the Nilla Wafer...


I wonder if this little vanilla cookie was created just for banana pudding? I mean, who really cries out for a Nilla Wafer out of the box? "Man, I just need a Nilla Wafer!" (Now, maybe an Oreo!) It is very simple, unassuming, and kinda, well, vanilla...but, it MAKES banana pudding.


How many things in my life are just simple and unassuming, and yet, make all the difference in the world?

I want to continually be walking out in the realization that I was created with a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11-14) and that I do make a difference in the world!

Just like my friends have made all the difference in my world!


Thanks, Friend...