Friendship

I know I've posted before on this very same topic. But do you ever have the overwhelming urge to stand on a rooftop and shout to the world how very special someone is to you? Now before you gag and stop reading, I'm not talking about my very amazing boyfriend. Or at least I'm not talking only about him. Nope. I'm talking about all of my friends. It's a pity that English only has one word for friend, for certainly many types of friends exist. And while I have definitely had my share of fair-weather friends, stab-you-in-the-back friends, and suck-the-life-out-of-you friends, tonight I'm talking about can't-imagine-my-life-without-you friends. These are the kind of friends that change you at the core, love you in spite of yourself, and whose acts of kindness leave you with only one response -- to get down on your knees and thank God that He cares for you that much.

Almost a year ago, my grandma died. And to tell you the truth, she was really more a friend than a grandma. She would ask me about boys in my life, fill me in on all the "news" about her friends, and pray for me every morning. Even though she died at 93, her death impacted me deeply. And do you know what happened as I grieved her loss? My other can't-imagine-my-life-without-you friends stepped in to help me bear the burden.

Can you imagine a friend being willing to spend a weekend (which should have been spent pursuing much-needed rest) helping me decorate the room in the funeral home where my grandma's body laid in state? It happened.

Can you imagine receiving phone call after phone call from friends wanting to comfort me (even friends who I had barely batted an eye to when their grandparents died?) It happened.

Can you imagine friends taking time out of their busy, busy lives to pay their respects to someone they had never even met -- just to be supportive of me? It happened.

Yep. I have amazing friends. In tragedy, they walk beside me and grieve with me. In triumph, they're the first to bust out in song. In weakness, they hold me and pray with me. In times of strength, they cheer me on. And I am only so lucky to return the favor, knowing that (despite my efforts) I will never be able say or do enough to explain how much I love them.

And you, dear reader, whoever you are: I can only pray that you, too, will know friendship as I have known it.

Deeply. Intimately. Sacrificially.

Best to you,

KM

"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."- Samuel Johnston