Friends enter your life unexpectedly and stay by choice. They know and understand parts of you that family might not ever… the scared, silly, and vulnerable pieces of you.
Some people jump into your heart and never ever leave.
When I was 5 years old we moved into a new home, away from all I knew and all that that made me feel safe. Even at the tender age of 5, moving is scary and confusing.
The first day we arrived, the sweetest little girl came walking into our front yard. The moment I saw her, something told me I’d be okay.
A lifetime friendship began. We’d walk to school and learn to ride bikes together. Every bone in her body was kind and sweet.
When I was 12, we moved again, and the two of us would lose touch. But as the twists and turns of life happen, we would find each other again almost 25 years later, and easily began where we left off.
Years would come and go. It became routine for us to be in touch and out of touch and in touch again. Each time, we picked right up.
During one of our “out of touch” moments, she discovered she had brain cancer, the worst and deadliest kind. I would only learn of this about six weeks before she died.
My heart broken, I went to her and we talked for hours. I told her what she meant to that scared 5-year-old girl all those years ago. We shared, cried, giggled and reminisced until her body no longer had the energy.
When I left that day, every fiber of my being could feel it would be the last time I’d see her. She had fallen into an unconscious state just a few days after our visit. A few weeks later, I would receive the call that she had died.
At her memorial service, we gathered to share the ways she had woven her sweet light into the lives of all she touched.
Friends enter your life unexpectedly and stay by choice. They know and understand parts of you that family might not ever… the scared, silly, and vulnerable pieces of you.
I am so grateful that my friend jumped into my heart all those years ago.