Simply Christi

My job ended unexpectedly on Tuesday. New-found freedom, and fear, instantly arose. Each day in the coming weeks, I want to name blessings that I would not have experienced had I remained in the 9 to 5 world. Today, time with one of my dearest friends, Christi, soars to the top of my list.

Christi often recounts her love story to me. She tells me not because I missed it; we walked through that season together. Instead, she tells the tale over and over again because I love to hear it. It almost seems to good to be true, and it is certainly better than any fairly tale ever written.

Jason was Christi's first boyfriend (at 22!), first kiss (on their wedding day!), and first (and only!) love. Sometimes she feels guilty, she says, that God made it so easy for them. She stepped into that marriage with virtually no baggage from the past, a heart that had never been broken, and a precious innocence. She always quickly turns that guilt into gratitude, of course. And I agree with her notion that the gift of near painless romance is an undeserved gift from God. But I'm also not at all surprised that Christi's love story is what it is. Christi lives her life with a simplistic beauty that today's world rarely finds.

In public, you can often find Christi lugging her two little guys around without a carriage, stroller, or even bag. She simply has her keys in her pocket, her baby on her hip, and her toddler at her side.

In her kitchen, you will always find delectable cuisines chock-full of nourishment, miraculously crafted with less than five ingredients. Christi strategically shops at local grocers on a self-defined tight budget, always discovering the best deals on rare treats.

At parties, attendees double-take at the breathtaking dressed-to-the-nines and looking-like-a-million-bucks brunette. Little do most know that Christi's eclectic, masterfully mix-and-matched wardrobe largely consists of hand-me-downs from her grandmother and other relatives.

Whatever setting, whatever circumstance, Christi gravitates to the simple way of life. For that, I simply adore her. So it's no surprise that I jump at the chance to hear more about her simple love story. And it's no surprise that she has one to tell.