30 Days of Thanks - Day 21

Today I'm thankful for friends.

I was going to add pictures.  I was going to name names.  But there's no way to do it.  I have been blessed with MANY friends.

I have "old" friends...my high school friends...you know who you are.  The ones that even though you go years between actually seeing each other, you know you could call them up anytime and they'd be right there with whatever you need.  The ones who when you DO finally see them, it's like you were never apart. The ones you talk to every day on the phone to keep you sane on the LONG commute.  The ones you text funny things you hear or see because it takes you back to the "good ole days".  For me, these aren't just friends from school, but friends from my home church too.  Some of that overlapped and some didn't.  I'm thankful for you.

I have "new" friends.  The ones who have blasted into my life, unexpected in the last few years.  The ones I would see at church or at work who I would have NEVER believed we'd be friends, but then God blessed me by making them some of the dearest friends EVER.  The ones you laugh with.  The ones you cry with (and who cry FOR you).  The ones you hang out with on Friday night.  The ones who have seen your house a mess and you theirs and IT. DOESN'T. MATTER.

Then there are the ones who came and went.  For whatever reason they were in your life for only a short period of time.  The ones who made you laugh during the darkest days of your life.  The ones who  taught you more about yourself in the short period if time they were in your life.  The ones that even though you might not ever care about seeing them again because the hole their departure left in your life, they helped form you into the person you are today.

I used to desire a BEST friend.  You know, the one who I could tell everything.  The one consistent who would love me as much as I loved her.  The one who was consistent when nothing else was.  I think this desire came from losing my mother at such a young age.  

I realized recently that no woman, relative or friend could replace my mother and the relationship that could have been.  Instead, God has blessed me with MANY people to fill that void.

So today, I am thankful.