Friends

Having moved about my entire life, I learned not to put a whole lot of stock in friendships. They come and go far too easily. And having good friends only to leave them hurts so much that I went through more than one cycle of simply trying not to make friends because I was only going to move away anyhow. I found books instead. Imaginations I could scribble down and take with me. Admittedly, I became a bit cynical about friendships…to the point where I thought I could just live without. Thankfully, God is above cynicism.

No matter where I lived, I made friends. God brought other girls into my life, and we couldn’t help but be friends. Most of these girls came for a season and departed when I moved away. But several have lasted through many moves. I am even one of those very blessed people that has those one or two really good friends that time doesn’t pale. We can pick right back up where we started every time we’re together.

So, despite years of cynicism I am here to state that friends are very special, and they are something God gives us to enrich our lives. How do I know that? Well, because I am at a place in life where I don’t have any friends. I mean, I don’t have any friends in the place where I live. I have women I know. I have people I work with. I even have a church family who has blessed me in many ways. But I don’t have any friends. I don’t have anywhere nearby I can sit down with for coffee and discuss just about anything. I don’t have another’s home to visit, or neighborhood to walk, or bookstore to wander about. It’s just me. And it’s very lonely.

Of course, I don’t mean I am alone by any means. I have Ed, who is my best friend. And I always have Emry. But since moving to Pittsburgh, I have realized that for the past many years my friends have been my family. In Texas. In Minnesota. God blessed me with friends both new and old who were very important pieces of not just my life but who I was. I had such rich friendships that several of these young women I am still in touch with very often and we exchange e-mails, phone calls or even texts that are full of laughter, tears, prayers, joys and sorrows. They are the relationships that continue to boost my life…only, they are hundreds of miles away.

I am learning not to take friendships for granted. The truth is, in time I may come across a friend here in Pittsburgh. I’m not taking any bets on that, but one can’t help but to hope. Meanwhile, I treasure all the more a brief day spent at Allyson’s, or an hour long phone call with Andrea, or an e-mail from Karen or Anna, or a text from Tirzah. Because friends are not a dime a dozen – they are one in a million. And I thank God for every single one of them and the time they take to be my friend.