I Got to Hug Chérie!

This is pretty long. It was all important for me to say. Today was a Blessed day...

Today is an important day. Today is the day I get to spend a moment with my deer friend in person for the first time. We've known each other for a few years now, having met on Twitter during the pandemic. Our mutual interest in Disney brought us together. She had shared a thought on Twitter that gained a lot of attention in the DisTwitter community. It caught my eye, and we became mutuals on that platform. We have since followed each other on various other social media platforms. But that is where it began.

She later commented on one of my posts about my paintings. That eventually inspired Bambi's Bird; which now adorns her book crate along with a second painting, Bambi's Yawn, Thumper's Curiosity. With the first painting, I included a note of encouragement along with my personal phone number to use anytime she needed to talk. A few months later, she reached out to me via text to encourage me. A true friendship has grown and blossomed ever since.

Over time, text messages went from once every few weeks to now, every few hours. We often share words of encouragement for one another or simply share random moments in our lives through photographs and videos. Sometimes it is a beautiful picture and other times it's just us being silly. Each memory is cherished.

For the past 111 days, we have been in fellowship doing Bible devotionals. Today is our 112th and we get to do it together in person for the first time. Right now, we are in The Chosen book 2, day 32. These 111 days have been such a Blessing. I imagine today will be even more so.

I've met several people from my time on social media these last few years. I've learned to manage my expectations of the meetings. With this one, I've been really excited. There is something special about our friendship that I cannot put into any other words except to say it is a true friendship. I'm not anxious about this meeting whatsoever. I have an excited nervous energy about it. We've been talking over video calls for months now. With that, and the fact we text every day, today is almost like we are meeting up again. But we aren't.

This is really the first time. But because we talk all of the time, I really do not have any expectations. We were simply meant to meet today. God ordain this moment long before we even knew each other existed. I don't have any of those questions like: Is she going to like me? or Am I going to make a fool of myself? and Will I stumble through conversations? All I feel is that this is the next moment we get to share together.

I really hope she is feeling the same way this morning. The answer to the question is he going to like me? is, I already do like you Chérie...hehehe Or to the question am I going to make a fool of myself? is, nope! I know you are going to be yourself and I love you for that. And to will I stumble through conversations? I'd say, if that happens, we'll stumble together. Because that's the point...we are doing this together.

Our journeys in this life are separate. But from time to time, our journeys bring us along side special people. I value today quite a bit because our true friendship has been built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Sure, we met through a mutual interest in Disney. But the friendship didn't actually begin until we met the relationship with prayer. This has afforded me to grow to love her with an agape love. I cannot say that about any other of my relationships; with perhaps the exception of the love I have for my son.

I decided to write all of the above to show where my heart is this morning before today becomes what it is. As important as this day is for me, this moment this morning is valuable. I wanted to express how I feel in this moment as it will have an impact on the entire day. It is going to be a great day because it is the day God has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I'm going to say this prayer...and everything after the prayer will be about the rest of the day...hehehe

Deer Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this day. Thank You for this friendship You have been growing between Chérie and I. The Love we share has Your fingerprints all over it. I am so grateful for all You have Blessed us with in this true friendship. Please go before us in this day and guide, protect, and Bless our steps. Please grant traveling mercies to her and I as we venture to Union Station. And continue to grant traveling mercies as we go about the day until we both return to our homes (mine being a hotel...hehehe). Please guide and direct our thoughts and conversations. May everything that we think, say, and do bring Glory to You. Thank You so much for this friendship. I pray that as we continue to plant seeds and water it, You will make it grow. May Your Will always be done in and through us. I love You, Lord! In Jesus' Name, AMEN!

I'm all settled back in my hotel room after an amazing experience. I sum it up as amazing. The following paragraphs will go into more detail, though. There were a few moments today when I wasn't quite sure how I felt due to crowds...hehehe The Last Bookstore and Little Tokyo were very crowded. Most likely due to the season...hehehe So I wanted to get that minor detail out of the way. That didn't really take away from the experience today. I simply mention it as it was a noticeable aspect. I did wonder if Chérie was concerned why I was so quiet during those few moments when I wasn't talking while avoiding bumping into people...LOL I'll want to be sure to check them both out again when the crowd levels are down in the off season...hehehe

The drive to Union Station was pretty quick at about 25 minutes. It was super easy to get and park in their garage. As I left, I was surprised that it was only $8! The surface parking was double that...hehehe I arrived there around 10am. I made my way up to the main area of the east side entrance as it was closest to the parking garage. That is where I met up with Chérie. She arrived around 10:30ish I believe. To finally be able to give her a real warm hug for the first time was...indescribable... The tears of joy I felt were hidden behind the tears caused by the horrible air quality here today...LOL

After we met up, we made our way to the Metro D Line to make our way to the subway station closest to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This was my first ever experience on a subway...the transportation system, not the national food chain...LOL Funny that they have a Subway restaurant near the area where we went down into the subway system...hehehe I didn't really know what to expect down there aside from what I had seen on TV or in movies. There weren't a lot of people down there. It was a tad dark. But it wasn't too intimidating, to me at least. There was a typical platform with a track on both sides with trains coming and going. The doors opened and we got in. And off we went! My first subway ride! Yay!!! I do appreciate that Chérie was the one who initiated me into the subway system...hehehe As exciting as I make it sound, it's basically just a train that goes underground. It makes getting around the city more pleasant. But it isn't like the trains I take at Disney...hehehe

Our first stop was the aforementioned Walt Disney Concert Hall. The outside is beautiful! We didn't get to go inside the concert hall itself. I would have loved to see that in person. We did see the lobby and the dining area. We also ventured into the gift shop. But just outside, around the corner, and up a large staircase was a beautiful garden. This is where what I'd say was my favorite moment today took place ❤️

In the garden was a small ampitheater. I sang a quick verse of Amazing Grace...hehehe After that we went around to a rose shaped fountain and some trees. This is where my favorite moment took place. We sat and did today's The Chosen devotional. I prayed and read aloud the devotional. Then we went back and forth discussing it. I asked her to voice the Prayer Focus prayer for us. And then we went back and forth on the Moving Forward questions. What stood out to me in the devotional was about building our faith on the Rock by doing what Jesus taught us. I mentioned earlier that our friendship was built on the foundation of Jesus Christ...well...yeah...once again, the topic of the devotional was immediately relatable to current thoughts and circumstances...hehehe At least as it relates to our friendship, focusing on what Jesus taught regarding loving each other, this is what I mean by ours being built on the foundation of Christ. I absolutely love that our friendship is a house that stands in our lives.

After the devotional time, we exchanged gifts. This is my favorite moment continued. We had both written handwritten notes to each other...hehehe She gave me some Instax photos from her Disneyland trip (one of a kind photos!!!), some well named woodland creature cutouts (I absolutely adore them!!!), and a Disney gift card (which I can't wait to spend and show her what I get!!!). Okay...now...here's the thing...I don't have any words. These that I've written just don't say it. Perhaps I'll write a poem...yeah...that's just what I'll have to do...hehehe Because this moment was beyond words...from the devotional, to the conversation, to the gifts...WOW!

Speaking of poems, I got her autograph!!! Several times!!! I brought the Unsealed books she is in and she signed her poems in the books...along with a sweet message for both. She also signed the poems she had written for me that I printed out. I'm so glad I brought all of that for her to sign. I have the autograph of my deer friend, the famous author!!! hehehe

After this, we got back on the subway and headed to the stop closest to The Last Bookstore. It was a little (a lot) scary getting from that station to the bookstore. There were what I'd describe as shady people on the side of the road we walked on. In hindsight, we should have crossed at the train station and walked on the side with the shops. But there was also someone being arrested just outside of The Last Bookstore...hehehe It's crazy to think it was an adventure just walking a few blocks...LOL

The bookstore itself was pretty amazing. As I said before, I need to check out when it isn't so crowded. But I did enjoy the creativity of the place. There weren't 2 bookshelves alike...hehehe There were tons of different sections. And not just books...vinyl and art were available as well. The book tunnel was pretty amazing. I took photos and video of Chérie in there. I took some other photos throughout of things that caught my attention. Due to the crowds, though, I feel as though I missed quite a bit of the uniqueness that is The Last Bookstore. Ooh, it was pretty interesting to think that there is this amazing wonderland in that building with the crazy just outside on the streets...hehehe

When we were done there, we walked on the sunny side of the street...hehehe...back to the subway. We headed back to Union Station, where we caught another train over to Little Tokyo. This train was a surface train from Union Station that ended up underground at the Little Tokyo stop...hehehe Little Tokyo was packed with people. There were lines at most of the shops to get in. We were able to get into a few shops without lines to check them out. I was digging the Japanese vibes there. But I wasn't digging the crowds. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't myself really. I felt bad for Chérie lugging around this silent blue ogre...hehehe Actually, she was probably fine with me. She was probably too busy thinking about the crowds the same as me...LOL We did tuck away to a spot where we could chat for a bit. But when other people started to sit next us, I offered the suggestion to go back to Union Station. I told her I'd like to come back again on another visit when it is out of season...hehehe Side note: Little Tokyo is what inspired my dinner tonight. I went to a sushi place near my hotel, Kamis Sushi; which was fantastic!

At Union Station, we spent the remainder of our time together talking. Of all the things we did today, what I loved most was talking. Experiencing everything else with Chérie was amazing. But the highlights all come down to when we were able to just sit and talk to each other. It was like talking with a friend I'd known for quite a while...well...because I have. I'm sure she'll reach out to me after reading this...or she might write about this in her own journal. But I have to say that spending the day with her was truly an amazing experience for me. I had originally expected we might spend 3-5 hours together today. We ended up spending nearly 9! The reason I thought it would be shorter was due mostly to the fact that the places we chose to visit together wouldn't normally take very long to visit...hehehe But our time at the Walt Disney Concert Hall garden and at Union Station extended the Blessing that was today.

I got to hug Chérie! She has referred to me as her closest, most consistent, and constant friend. I'd have to say the same of her. I'm grateful for all she is to me. She is an inspiration. She is cherished. She is truly my deerest friend. I love her with agape love...unconditionally...and all I want is the best for her. I pray God continues to guide and direct me to be that close, consistent, and constant friend she needs in every season of her life. I'm grateful I can be that for her. God is so good!

Tomorrow? What Blessing will tomorrow bring? Let's find out, together!