We'll pass on the karaoke

So I have this friend... Her name is Yana and she is pretty amazing. 

Last night we decided to check out this coffee shop that we both heard of but never visited... Since it was open until midnight, it seemed like a good choice. Or so we thought. Immediately when we walked in, we were met by a white, gangster-looking dude singing karaoke to none other than country. It was awful! His friend was even worse. I really don't understand why anyone would want to voluntarily humiliate themselves in this way.

The lovely Yana and I last summer at MGC Kids Camp

Anyway, we got our drinks and headed back to the car for a nice long chat. Yana is seriously the most optimistic person I know and since I consider myself more of a realist, sometimes it can be challenging to find common ground. But, not that night. We were totally on the same page. Yana is graduating college this semester and has a heart for "something more." It was wonderful hearing all about her dreams and ambitions. I know God is going to do incredible things through her creative, artistic abilities.

Our whole conversation was very uplifting and inspiring, and it turned out to be a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day. This morning I opened up my email to find this little note from my dear Yana... It nearly brought me to tears. Thank God for friends like this!

Hi friend,
Thank you so much for a lovely evening. I am so encouraged and inspired through your friendship towards me. Thanks for just being with me tonight! And for enduring the terrible, terrible karaoke singers :) 

I am so thankful that you're my friend. That we are on this journey together (for now). My prayer is that we can always share common ground, regardless of where life may take us! That we may be united in the one pursuit of our heart... Christ. That we may be able to encouraged each other wherever we may be, whether on the same road, or on completely different spectrums of life because our greatest ambition will be the same.

I love you, Inna! I am so very thankful that you are willing to share your heart with me, that you allow yourself to be vulnerable. I admire you for that. So much. I am also very encouraged by your blog posts. Keep it up.

I hope you have an exciting/beautiful Friday at work. Let's do life together more often.

Sincerely,
Yana

To check out Yana's incredible photography and design work, visit her blog: http://www.beforeiblink.com/