Old friends...

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm not exactly the sentimental sort. I am not very proud of that fact, but it's who I am. I don’t put too much stock in old “things.” I cherish memories, I reflect upon past conversations (good thing I have a very good memory!)…I don’t keep very many physical mementos of times gone by—I’m a real minimalist in that regard, some old photos, a handful of letters in a box, and that's just about it. The rest goes by the way side.

I’m also not the type of person who stays friends with people only because there is a history of knowing the person for a long time.

But I do have some people in my life who I have known for a really significant number of years. One of those people is my friend Trish in Ohio. I met her right before the start of my freshman year of high school (she was a big-time junior!) and we were both on the tennis team. She was so nice to me immediately and she introduced me to all of her other junior girlfriends and she really made me feel comfortable starting high school and learning the ropes. She took me under her wings and set a great example for me as someone who used high school to her advantage and made the most of her time there in all aspects.

We then wound up going to the same college—she was one reason why I felt so comfortable there too—because she had opened her college life up to me and let me come visit her while I was still in high school and she showed me around and told me all of the “inside info.” Again, she made my transition to a new school (and a new life!) easier.

After college, a good number of years ago now, we lost touch for a while, she relocated to Ohio because her soon-to-be husband had gotten a great job out there.

Then, sometimes things happen in our lives and people who have drifted away drift back and so on. I’m not even sure when we reconnected, but I think it was basically because we had never totally disconnected, if you know what I mean.

Now Trish is a mom and a wife and an activist for women and children and a great adult human being. Her birthday was this weekend, and you know what the amazing thing is? SHE called ME the day before her birthday to leave me a message to thank me for her birthday card and to tell me how much she thinks about me and all of the funny things we did in high school and to tell me that she prays for me. I want to cry whenever someone tells me that they pray for me and I think it’s because I pray a lot and I pray hard and I cover a lot of bases when I pray. I know the power prayer has and to know that someone else takes time out of their life to pray for me is the greatest thing another person can do for me. I mean that.

Last May I went out to Ohio for the first time and stayed with Trish and her husband and son and got to watch her live her life out there. I had so much fun. It’s funny, because she is so much like her mom in her personality and her very friendly way. I’ve talked about us all turning into our parents before and I am convinced that nine times out of ten, we do. In her case, that’s a great thing. I still see her mom around town and at church sometimes and I love it because it's the next best thing to getting to see Trish.

Sometimes old friends are great friends and we have to work to keep them as much as we do the “newer” people we surround ourselves with on the day to day. God sends us all kinds of people at all different times in all different ways. If you take the time to really listen, He will let you know who He wants to to keep close to your heart for all of your days on His earth, and you'll find as time goes by that it's not just your mom, husband, or daughter...We have all different kinds of family and all different kinds of soulmates in this life, both men and women. Stay open to all of yours.