GRATEFUL FOR OLD FRIENDS

I am so thankful for old friends that stick through the thin or thick of life.

I knew of Cheryl and Pam in school in Cathlamet … they are both several years older than I am, so I only saw them in passing.

When I married my husband in 1974, I got to know Cheryl and Pam: Cheryl was Bob’s SIL and Pam is her cousin, and was at Cheryl and Ralph’s house a lot. All of our kids are roughly the same age – Cheryl’s girls – Denise, is 3 years older than our daughter, and Brenda was born 2 weeks before our daughter was born; Pam’s son, Spencer, is 6 months older than our daughter. They all went to school together until life paths’ took unplanned turns and we all drifted apart. Periodically we would all converge again at various points in our busy lives and at various locations around Longview we all happened to be at times.

But each time our busy lives converged and we ran into each other, it was like time had stood still and we picked up where we had left off.

After Bob left this planet, Cheryl and Pam refused to leave me alone with my thoughts and upturned life – they faithfully came to visit me, and Cheryl called every day – even though I has specifically told everyone that I wanted time alone for a while. They were not intrusive … just loving. And I was not even aware that I needed what they were giving. But they were aware: they were not strangers to the kind of grieving that only death can bring. I, on the other hand had always avoided death; but I could not avoid my husband’s physical death. And they would not allow me to live in my head. They gently and lovingly prodded me back to life. When my birthday arrived 15 days after Bob’s graduation to a higher level of life, and 4 days following the bleakest Christmas ever, Cheryl and Mike stopped by briefly to bring me a box of home-baked goodies that tasted heavenly and soothed my broken heart – Pam sent her love with them to ferry to me.

Yesterday they pulled me back into a social life for 4-1/2 hours … quietly and small scale, but so necessary, and so welcome. Again, I didn’t know I needed it. But they knew. And I am grateful.

I am grateful for friends that never give up when the going gets rough.

I am grateful for friends that give love so unselfishly and so abundantly.

I am grateful for old friends that share my memories and are not afraid to speak my husband’s name openly and freely for fear they might make me cry – I may always cry when memories prick my thoughts, but I want people to say Bob’s name out loud.

I am grateful for friends who remind me that life goes on – especially an interrupted life.

I am grateful for friends that understand feeling alone when I am surrounded by friends is okay: they “get it”. And it doesn’t make them uncomfortable or twitchy.

I am grateful that Elohim brought us together so many decades ago, and keeps us together through all the twists and turns of our lives to date.

Good friends are hard to come by – steadfast friends are a rarity and a true blessing.

I pray I am worthy and can, in turn, be a blessing to them.