Thanks to some great friends.....

I don't know about everyone else but I have been very blessed with some very good friends throughout my lifetime. I have always gravitated towards having a couple of close friends rather than a bunch of not so close friends. I was told once by someone in authority that I needed to expand my friendship base and I kind of laughed at him. You see, he just didn't understand that the friends that I had would last a lifetime. When I was a senior in high school a friend of mine who had already run the college gauntlet, gave me some really great advice. She told me that if I chose well, the friends I made in college were going to be the friends I would keep for life. She was so correct! Twelve years ago, I walked onto GBS campus VERY reluctantly. It was not where I wanted to be, but it was where I felt I needed to be. And just like that, I became friends with a young lady named, Teresa. Teresa was my guidance counselor through the many pitfalls of GBS life. For those of you that know me, you know that my personality does not lend itself very well, to following rules that make absolutely no sense to me. But thankfully, Teresa was there to help me with my frustration and to remind me that this or that was a rule and I needed to be careful. When Teresa was in school, I made the Deans list, :-) When she wasn't, I didn't. I was able to sort of repay her a couple of years ago, when she ran into some hard times, and it felt so good to be there for her in her time of need. Now, she has unfortunately (for me--not her) up and moved away from me, to be with her man. I am so happy that she is happy and pray that God will continue to bless her in life. But, one thing I know, no matter how far away she moves or how long it is in between times that we talk, we will always be the best of friends. Love ya, T!




Then a semester later, another girl shows up. I really didn't think she and I would hit it off. I thought she was a totally different girl than she was. But, when she started dating one of my really good guy friends we started hanging out more and I realized I had gotten her all wrong. And now 12 years later, she is the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. I wish I could explain how much Rhoda means to me. She has been through so much in the last couple of years. One of the most difficult things that I have ever seen, is watching Rhoda slowly but surely lose her mother. I have to say, I can't imagine life without my mother and Rhoda lives it every day. She loved her mother so much and her mom fought the fight so hard for her kids. Not for herself, but because she knew her kids didn't want to let her go. And then I watched my best friend get up at her mother's funeral and belt out the songs her mom loved so much so calmly and with so much peace, and I knew that she was going to be okay. Rhoda is a caretaker, and a natural born mother and she doesn't mind putting it into use. She doesn't just listen and throw out empty advice, instead, she takes my heartache or my troubles and she makes it her heartache and her troubles. I know that she hurts when I hurt and that is the best kind of friend that a person could have. There is nothing worse than pouring your heart out to someone and knowing that they just don't get it. She doesn't tell me what I want to hear, she tells me what I need to hear, but with such gentleness, it takes most of the sting out of it. In the last couple of months I have been struggling, and I have leaned on Rhoda pretty hard, and she has been there for me every step of the way. I was kind of feeling sorry for myself the other night and I really believe that God brought my friends to mind and helped me realize how truly blessed I am. So I felt the need to be a bit open with my thankfulness for such great friends. Thanks, Rhoda for being the one person that I can tell anything to, and trust you with it 100%. Thanks for being there for me and helping to keep me on the straight and narrow. Love ya girl!

For those of you out there, who have that friend--you know the one--why don't you make it a point to let them know how special they are. Sometimes we get so caught up in the normality of life that we forget how truly special these people are to us, until something happens and we need their support. Don't let their friendship go unnoticed. :-)