Do you have a forever friend? One of those people who has known you forever (from preschool through junior high and beyond) who knows your secrets, where all the bodies are buried and loves you anyway?
One of mine was in C-Town over the weekend and I got to spend some time with her on Friday. Instead of going to lunch together, we walked. And talked. LOL.
My Friend is retired (because of health reasons) but still walks nine to ten miles every day. We talked about old times, caught up on what everyone’s family is doing and the trips she’s taken.
I told her about the horrors of my recent “unmentionables” buying trip and she told me about doing all her shopping with her husband driving her. (ie–You need to shop for another pair of shoes???)
Know the best thing about My Friend? She inspires me. Even though her life is a bit of a struggle, she hasn’t slowed down much at all. And when she decides to do something, she goes after it all the way.
And she succeeds!
My Friend has accomplished several things in her life, and right now she’s doing those dog trial things where you train your hound to run up and over teeter-totters, on balance beams, through tunnels and that kind of thing. And, no surprise, her little dog is a regular winner.
While we were together, she received a call from a man she’d worked with over the years who needed to talk to her. His company had downsized him out of a job and he was searching for another. As I listened, she made small comments and suggestions about how he should go about it. She gave him ideas about things she’d learned so he could use them when applying.
My Friend gave away the knowledge she’d accumulated from her years in the business and at the end of the conversation told the man to be sure to use her as a reference, and gave him an open invitation to stay with her and her husband anytime he was in her area.
Remember the phrase, better to give than receive? She’s living it.
And I am inspired.
Friends are so important in our lives. Someone loves me, no matter how upset another person is with me. My friend is praying for me, and I’m praying for her. She’s a kindred soul I can depend on, no matter what.
While telling you about her, I kept thinking–
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. I Cor 13:4-8
Read it again, and when you read the word love, think a friend. After all, what is friendship except love between friends? My Friend not only understands that scripture, she epitomizes it.
Do you have someone in your life who’s a Forever Friend? Doesn’t the time you get to spend with them (and remembering them) seem to be extra sweet?
Susan Spess Shay 