Little Girl, Your Time Has Come

            When I think of friendship, I think of the person who I know will be there no matter what.  The person who you can go weeks and months not talking to, and then one day you reunite and everything will be as if you had never been apart.  People that you can share this type of bond with are rare to find.  Sure, I have lots of so-called “friends”.  But will they still be my friends after this journey we call high school ends and we move on to the next phases of our lives? 

            As we all know, friends tend to fade in and out of our lives.  As we progress through the various stages of life we lose friends and gain others.  I have had this experience with many of my friends, but there is one in particular who stands out.  Through most of our junior high years, we were pretty good friends.  We were close, but not on a super personal level.  As we ventured into high school, I changed friends.  I grew extremely close to another girl who became my best friend.  We spent endless hours together and might as well have lived at each other’s house!  Consequently, I completely lost touch with my previous close friend, and I believe she actually became angry with me.  Walking by her in the hallway became awkward.  No exchange of words.  No friendly hug.  Not even an uneasy smile. 

It wasn’t until the Life Teen retreat, I believe my freshman year, that things started to turn around.  We each had our own individual jars in which we could place notes to each other during our free time.  I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to attempt to amend my relationship with my old friend, but I was too scared of her bitter feelings towards me to take that step.  Luckily, she was caring enough to sneak a note into my jar.  This little, orange paper gave our friendship a new life.  Not because of what it had written on it, but simply because of the fact that she stuck it in my jar.

Jess' nasty hairy legs! Grrrooosss!

From that moment on, we have been continuously growing together both in our friendship and our faith.  In my rough times, she places her hand on my shoulder and prays over me.  In my joyful times, she joins me in my celebration!  Thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for the prayers, laughs, support, and words of encouragement.  Whether we have time to laugh with each other or not, remember that I am never more than a phone call away.  You’ve helped me grow, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Now that she is days away from what will be one of the most memorable moments of her life, I am so happy to be able to return the favor.  I was there with her in the hospital room when she was about to break.  I saw her heart hurting because she was afraid that her dreams would not come true.  And, most importantly, I witnessed over and over again her immense amount of faith, perseverance, and optimism that she was forced to keep on the journey to achieving this goal!    

Well, little girl, your time has come!  You made it happen, and I am more proud of you than I could ever be!  As you walk through that tunnel and into the arena on Friday night, I pray that you realize the potential that you possess.  I pray also that you give your best and leave nothing to be regretted.  Thank you for showing me what true strength, perseverance, and friendship are all about.  Trust in God, believe in yourself, and keep being you anyway!