Life Lesson #167 ~ You've Got A Friend in Me

"I'm much more me when I'm with you." ~ Unknown

I love the summertime. I mean what's not to love about the lazy days of summer? You know what I'm talking about, especially if you're in the education field. The stay up late nights followed by those non alarm sounding wake ups, messy hair, no make-up, PJ wearin', barefoot I'm burning daylight, I don't care filled with a hot cup of tea, a good book, your play list turned up best morning ever kind of days. And the best part well that's the ability to spend the afternoons with your closest friends. When I say I'm truly blessed I am. Over the last few years God has strengthened and fortified several wonderful and remarkable friendships in my life. These women many of you know I call my sisters of the heart. Truth be told, I have no doubt, we'll be the old ladies causing trouble, racing our wheelchairs and dueling with our canes one day.That's just who we are, goofy, silly and downright amusing, to ourselves anyway. Yesterday was no different. I got to spend the afternoon with my very best friend in the whole wide world. She's my sister, my confidant, my other half and she loves me for the goof ball that I am, never judging me. No, we don't share the same DNA, but we do share the same heart. And this is why I have called her my sister for almost two decades. I'm sure God made us best friends because we'd probably be too much for either one of our moms to handle together. Just like so many afternoons, we spent the day yesterday talking, sharing scriptures and praying with and for each other. We went to lunch, sharing our baskets of food, and agreeing we were a little too stuffed by the end. Then we spent the rest of the day wandering around our local mall, trying on masquerade masks, looking at purses, pondering shoes, thinking ahead to Ren Fair, contemplating trying on way over priced gowns in preparation for our Vegas vow renewals with our hubbys, snacking on banana split ice cream dots and ending our day taking the silliest pictures we could manage. Dare I say it? Mischief managed!

There is no question I am a Potter Head, hence the reference above but there's absolutely no doubt I'm a Disney enthusiast. And this spills over into most of my friendships as well. So it's probably no surprise to anyone when I hear the song, "You've Got A Friend In Me" I think of my sweetest friend, Shawna. How does it go again?  Oh that's right..."And as the years go by our friendship will never die. You're gonna see it's our destiny...you've got a friend in me." It's not that we don't have close relationships with others, because we do. In fact I'd say our hearts are full knowing we have a beautiful circle of friends, together and individually we call family, sisters of the heart, our partners in crime. And though I have a small circle, I know each one of my sisters are God sent. Natalie, Julie, Marnie, Lori , Megan, Michelle, my Aunt Rosermarie and Morgen are never far. They are always in my heart, stitched and woven together into the fabric of who I am. Their presence in my life makes me a far better woman than I would ever be on my own, that's for sure. They each have a place in my life, a special part of my heart that no one else can take away. In the last couple of years I've learned something, something big really, something thegoodvibe.com expresses perfectly. "Sometimes your circle decreases in size, but it increases in value." The beauty about the women God has hand picked and placed in my life is that we understand "family isn't always about the people in your life who are blood relations. It's about the people in your life who accept you for who you are, support you in the things you choose to do and no matter what, are there for you. It's the people in your life who love you, respect you and who you can depend on." I'm blessed to have several sisters in my life, sisters who are the exact definition of this honestly. And Shawna, she is my spiritual sister, the one who encourages me to be strong in the Lord, re-enforcing the idea that God has His hand on me. Shawna prays over me, for me and often feels my pain and joy in her own heart. I look to Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and count my blessings when I think of my beautiful sister of the heart. It says this, " Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble."

And that's the thing, it's no secret these women, my sisters are invested in my life as I am in theirs. I know I can call Shawna at any time of the day or night. She will cry with me, laugh with me and uplift me, never once making me feel less than her, ridiculous and becoming offended by my heart or jealous of who I was created to be. She is not my rival, but my equal no matter where we started or where we will eventually end up. My Father, has taught me many lessons in life, some hard, some easy but never as important as understanding the importance of true friendship. Word porn has this quote. It's powerful, filled with truth. It says this, 'It's important to make friendships that are deeper than gossiping and drinking and going out. Make friends who you can go get breakfast with, make friends you can cry with, make friends who support your life goals and believe in you." It's crazy to me how as teenagers we feel the need to have an over abundance of friends in our lives. The more the merrier it seems right? And for a brief time that's exactly what we need as we learn how real friendships work. As we experience gossip, heartaches and rivalries we start to see the bigger picture. We become a bit more guarded and not so much an open book for everyone, maybe even a bit awkward to a few souls. Our lives become private, more safeguarded than before. As we grow up and mature we begin to be much more selective understanding having a few, close friends in your life is more important than a 100 acquaintances. If I have learned anything in life, I've learned this: "Everybody isn't your friend. Just because they hang around you and laugh with you doesn't mean they are your friend. People pretend well. At the end of the day, real situations expose fake people, so pay attention." And that's the point of Life Lesson #167 ~ You've Got A Friend in Me...real is rare but when you find it, you know it. The mask falls off, the genuineness of who you are and who they are shines through and you not only realize but you embrace the idea that "real friends are family without a birth certificate."

This is what I know without a second thought: I can be me, the down right silly, goofy, nerdy southern hot mess that I am with Shawna. She sees me, she knows me and my heart better than I do myself sometimes. I think of Shawna  when Buzz Lightyear says, "This is falling with style." Why? Well because that's exactly what we do, fall with style. We aren't perfect, we doubt ourselves but when it comes to being there for one another, to encouraging each other it doesn't matter if we're actually flying or falling with grace, we know either way, we're going down or soaring upwards hand in hand, together. We can act crazy, be silly and even look hilarious, bringing out the best in each other even if the world looks at us like a pair of mismatched goofballs. See what I know is this : God has given me some pretty amazing sisters of the heart. In each of them, and in Shawna He has provided me a sister, much like myself, but different. I may have been brought into this world an only child, but I will not go out one. I have no doubt Shawna, and these women God has hand picked and placed in my life "will always be the sisters of my soul, the friends of my heart."

"But I love you so much more than just to the moon and back." (thisislovelife.com) No,  I love you to infinity and beyond!

~Christina