what do you mean?

tenacious: holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold; persistent; holding together; cohesive; not easily pulled asunder; tough.

i wasn't really sure what this word meant until august 28, 2011. it was written in a perfectly timed e-mail. i realized that i had spent most of my life making assumptions about it's meaning and given the weight of the message, i desperately needed to know what it meant. if you have tenacious friends in your life, you understand what an incredible gift they are. this is how i feel. i am deeply grateful for the tenacious and furious love of those who have walked beside me. those who have grieved with me, cheered for me, and believed for me when hope was distant. and this one friend could not have known how desperately i needed to read those words that day...or how the complete understanding of what they meant went straight into my heart and i could finally see truth for the first time in months. truth that was always present, but veiled by my own brokenness. the grace and kindness of the Father in giving me this friend...the redemption of so many broken relationships...is far greater and runs so much deeper than i can say. and tenacious? she definitely is. He is. and i am becoming.