I Just Got a Call...

Friends in the moment are friends for all eternity.

I just got a call from a friend. Not just any old friend, but a friend who I have never really hung out with, a friend who I see in passing at our children's school or in the hallway at church. We wave hello when we drive past each other on the street. On average, we chat about once a quarter in just this manner. She is a friend of moments.

For moments in my life when I am feeling down, she has begun to be there. In one of our passing moments, she said to call if I ever needed some help. So, I took her up on the offer the day my separation started. And she came. One other friend and she came over and helped me put my home back together after half of everything was removed from every room. On a random day when no one could know I was feeling like I have nothing to offer the world, she asked my advice. Today, she took time in the moment to reach out. She told me she felt impressed to call and ask me what I needed. I rattled off a list of mundane things, but the conversation afterwards was what gave me the lift I desperately needed. She told me I make a difference, that I am a strong woman who people look to for an example, and that I uplift others. It touched my heart to hear those things. She nearly commanded me to look past my feelings of inadequacy so I could recognize how I really do help others.

Many of you have friends like this one. People who cross our path for only a few moments in our entire lifetime. They won't ever become a sort of best friend person who knows everything about us. We simply cannot be the very closest of friends with every single person we come in contact with. It is one of life's impossibilities. But-- we can make each moment that we spend with such momentary friends genuine and worth treasuring. This is why I choose right now to end my silence and do it out of gladness. Gladness for so many friends like this one and especially for her at this very moment. I want to give thanks for each friend who reaches out moment by moment, knowing all we have are those few, but precious moments to bond our friendship together. Friends in the moment are friends for all eternity. They are the angels that pick us up when we are down, and if we blink, we might not remember who helped us along our way.

I have always adored her richly-colored red hair and how she has lipstick on almost every time I see her. This day--I want to say I will always and forever adore her for her rich heart and how she has light shining through her loving eyes every time I see her. This day, she has been one of the tender mercies God grants me every day of my life.