February is International Friendship month, and honestly I was not aware of that until like a week ago.

While my friends deserve so much more than just a month to be celebrated, it's kind of cool that there is a month set aside to recognize it.

Interestingly enough it falls on the month of "love" or whatever everyone calls it.

And let me tell ya, I love my girls.

So, this article is to my girls, my best friends and ones who encourage me.

I am so grateful to have some of the strongest, compassionate and hardworking women as my very best friends.

Although I am a good four to five hours away from most of them, at times it feels like i'm only five minutes because technology is the bomb.

One quality that all of my friends posses is forgiveness and that is crucial in any friendship as we are not perfect. I hate to admit that I absolutely mess up and especially more than I would like.

In the past I haven't always made it easy to be forgiven, but as Christ forgave us my friends understand the importance of forgiving me and that we are friends for a reason.

In my own definition a friend is someone who loves unconditionally. They love no matter what and never fail to let me know.

A few years ago lack of communication resulted in hurting one of my best friends feelings. Though it wasn't intentional it was still something that hurt her heart and I couldn't take back. She politely told me that she loved me, as she always would, but she needed time to just think.

Of course it hurt me. I don't know who wouldn't be hurt at that. But I needed to understand that sometimes actions to have consequences and communication is always key.

She loves me unconditionally. She took her time (which was a few hours) and when she was ready she reached out to me and we were able to talk it out.

Friends like this are so incredibly rare and I am overwhelmed with joy just knowing that these special women love me.

A few of these women I am also lucky enough to call my sisters.

I know that not all siblings are super close, but I am blessed that I have the relationship that I do with mine.

I couldn't be any more different than them or my best friends, but we all bring such a uniqueness to each other that is the perfect balance.

I have an ongoing saying with one of my best friends in which we say that if we had recently met, we probably wouldn't like each other.

Now I can't say whether that would be 100% true or not, but that is how different we are.

That is how different I am with all of my best friends. While we absolutely have similarities such as some hobbies and passions, our personalities as a whole couldn't be more vast.

I dedicate this to the beautiful, strong and powerful women in my life who have done nothing but love and encourage me throughout life. They have been a constant light and joy in some of my darkest times and have always been honest even if it'll hurt for a bit.

While International Friendship month may have inspired me to write an article dedicated to them, they are the true reasons International Friendship month should be celebrated.

However, I think they honestly deserve to be cherished every single day and with me, they absolutely are.

A friend loves at all times
Proverbs 17:17