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The last thing she said to me on her post was, "Deep abiding love." I can't recall seeing those words written before and if I had, they didn't penetrate me like they did that day.
I greatly admire my friend Micky. She’s more knowledgeable than the set of encyclopedias at my parent's house. (To my generation, that was google, thank you very much). When I think she couldn't know anything more, she pulls something out from her dreads, and bamboozles me. A life goal is to know something that she doesn't. Hey, I dream big.
She was my saving grace in major medical answers by telling me of my NP and she’s the only reason I was able to nurse my then newborn son. She dedicated hours working with his latch so that I could nourish him after a professional told me to not bother.
I feel a great weight of gratitude to her. After only knowing her a few short years, I tried to figure out what we did to deserve the loyalty that she has shown our family. I’ve only come up with that it’s just who she is.
She has also taught me an invaluable lesson on friendship.
We’re both extremely passionate and don't always agree. At times, we have gone toe to toe but have always heard one another despite differences. Once, we went back and forth for hours on a topic through social media. There was no winning the other but we stood strong and our passion was evident.
At times, s.m. has lost the ability for people to respectfully disagree. Our need to be RIGHT outweighs resolve or relationship.
I read through the comments later and realized that our discussion was open for anyone to think that we were at odds. We weren’t, there was just no resolve but how I felt about her had not changed. I let her know this publicly and that I love her. I will never forget her words back to me - they swelled off the page as I read them.
"I love you too, sis. Deep, abiding love." These last 3 words are ones that she genuinely meant and they pierced my heart.
I don't need to be right as much as I need relationship in my life. I need love. Deep abiding love - that can disagree and still accept. Love that endures rough patches, hard roads and challenging times but at the end says, "I’m here."
I never see those 3 words without thinking of Micky, and the lover of my soul who loves me just the way I am. They challenge me to love better and make me wonder if love is the greatest force we can humanly feel and if deep, abiding live doesn’t just conquer all. I know for me, it does.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." -1 Corinthians 13:13
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Jill Parr
≫ ≫ Singer. Speaker. Writer. Coffee consumer. Wife. Mom. Mimi. Shoe lover. These are some of the things that make Jill Parr who she is. Although she is passionate about all of these, she might be most passionate about helping women walk into their true identity of who it is that God created them to be.
Parr toured the country as a CCM recording artist, playing festivals and churches for over a decade. Never giving up her dream to sing full time, God started moving her in a new direction in 2009. She started speaking to women and singing less, all while wrestling with the idea of this new season.
Parr’s husband, Brian Hardin, founded the Daily Audio Bible in 2006. Parr is the founder of, “More Gathering” that is sponsored by the Daily Audio Bible, annually. (
www.moregathering.com)
Jill and Brian live outside of Nashville, Tennessee, with their 5 kids and first grandchild. They travel extensively throughout the year.
In addition to speaking and singing, Jill enjoys shoe shopping, the outdoors, cooking, fashion, music, painting art all while enjoying great coffee.
