A visit from a long and dear friend....

A little bit before Thanksgiving, my friend from high school came to visit me. She brought her two youngest boys with her, Hunter and Riley. It was so nice to have her come and spend some time with her. We don't get much "real" time together as she lives in the next state over. Six hours away. Breaks my heart sometimes when I think about it, because we have been through so much together over the years, I really do miss her and wish we could be closer.

I met her in high school, in particular, the Mechanical Drawing class. I remember this only because it was only her and myself in a class full of boys! We became friends and I'm so grateful for it too. Her and I have had spent time in high school together, gone to some parties together (oh the stories I could tell!), have cried on each others shoulders when boyfriends would dump us. We would spend lots of time on the phone together when we moved away from each other. Her to PA and myself to WV. It's funny as I reflect back over the years, our friendship has had periods of intensity to periods of silence, but it as always remained the same in that we have always felt comfortable with each other. We could go a few weeks/months without speaking, call each other up on the phone and just pick right back up where we left off. I sit here almost in tears, reminiscing over the memories I have stored in my head of how Amy helped me the day I didn't want to live anymore. I was in the house all by myself, no one was around and I could easily have done whatever and not been accountable for it. That day God placed it on her heart to call me and stay on the phone with me until Mark came home. Her selfless act of love and compassion for my hurting soul has meant more to me then she probably even knows.

Finding a friend besides your spouse that you can share intimate and vulnerable things with is a treasure. My prayer is that everyone can find that special friend in their lives. I pray this for my children as they begin to foster the friendship with the kids they come in contact with. I know that God uses these friendships in more ways than one, but I think most of all the love that comes from it is precious indeed.