Friends are Friends Forever Part 2

Okay, so as promised, part 2 of the blog:



Shannon. Shannon and I have been very close since college. I graduated from college in 2005. We went to Vennard College together for a few years. We actually met at a summer camp during my freshman year of college, her senior year of high school. She came to Vennard the following fall, she was a freshman, I was a sophmore, we lived down the hall from each other, and while I tease her alot, I thought that she hated me at camp. I was a counselor and I just thought that she and her friends hated me. I really have no basis for this thought at all. Other than, I had very low self esteem and probably just assumed that she didnt like me. None the less, when she got to college, we became fast friends. We would stay up late at night in the dorm, Shannon, Me, and Jill, our rooms were almost right in order down the hallway of the 2nd floor of the dorm, just one girl in between shannon and my rooms, lavonne, I always felt bad for her, because the 3 of us girls were night owls, we loved to stay up late, not studying or anything crazy like that. No, we liked to laugh and joke. If i told you of some of the things we talked about or games we made up, youd think we were crazy, which we probably were! But, we were bestfriends! Shannon got married while we were still in college and moved out of the dorm. This was a hard time for me, because now she lived in a house across town, and so we didnt get to have our late nights in the dorm. Id still drive over and be at her house until very late at night, but I missed her in the dorm. After college, we both remained in the same town. Shannons senior year, she asked me to be in her Senior Chapel, this was right after quite a difficult time in her life, which I am not going to disclose here. She went through some tough times, and I as a friend, tried to be there for her as much as I possibly could. She did an amazing job speaking! I was so proud of her! To this day, I am still very proud of her. Shannon and I dont live in the same town anymore, and sometimes I miss being able to drive across town when I want to see her. I miss having someone who just knows me inside and out and how I am feeling before I even tell her. Someone who often times, feels the same way I do about about things. Shannon is the true definition of a friend. She is someone who has loved me not in spite of all of my short comings, but rather, BECAUSE of them. She loves me for exactly the person that I am and has never expected me to be someone different. She has spurred me on at times to be someone greater than I am allowing myself to be and she has supported me when noone else did. She has been there through the tough times of life that I didnt want to share with anyone else. And she inspires me each day to be a better person. She pushes me to grow closer to God and to follow his heart.



Meggan is another friend from college. Meggan and I, are a little bit more alike than Shannon and I. That is, we both love pop music, we both love fashion, and in college, we were both pretty boy crazy, I, admittedly, much more than she! Meggan and I would have overnighters all the time! Shed sleep on one of the bed and me on the other, someone always had a foot in their face :) but we somehow didnt care! Meggan always makes me laugh. and Meggan has always thought more of me than I have of myself. She has always seen something greater in me than I have seen in myself. Meggan is that friend, that now, lives hours away from me. She lives 6 hours away from me right now :( but, she is the friend who, no matter how much distance or time has passed between us, we always pick back up right where we left off! I remember 2 summers ago, it had been quite a while since we had seen each other, and we were asked to counsel at a camp together, just the 2 of us girls! and I LOVED IT!! We stayed up late at night, after our girls went to bed and we just talked. Like old times. This summer, when my mom went missing for a few days, Meggan got right on the phone and in tears asked me if there was anything she could do and scolded me for not calling to talk to her about things before they got to this point. She wanted to be there for me, and I had, in a sense, robbed her of that chance. Meggan is another TRUE friend. She has always been there for me. She has always cared for me. She is a "forever friend" if you will. Someone I know, that for the rest of my life, she will always been in my "top 5 friends list". Yes I have one of those :) But Meggan is definetly one of those.



WOW!!! This is kinda fun for me! Hope you guys are still tracking with me, I still have a few more and then I am going to tell you why I did this at the end :)



Melissa. Melissa is a friend from Red Rock Camp. It is hard for me to remember how long we have known each other at this point. I would say at least 5 years, probably 7 years actually. At any rate...Melissa is like a long lost friend, that I wish I would have known for many more years of my life than I have. Melissa is someone who I can lean on. She is someone who doesnt judge me. She loves me for exactly who I am and would not expect me to be anything else around her. Melissa and I live about 3 hours apart, but the distance doesnt keep us from being close. Melissa is the type of friend who calls just to see how I am doing. Who genuinely cares about me and my well being. She wants the best for me in life. And I am SO THANKFUL for that!! Melissa is someone who is a good listener, but she is always someone who allows me to share in her hurts and pains with her, and someone who shares the joys with me too!!! Shes just a great friend! When I have worries or anxiety, she doesnt think Im crazy, in fact, she understands and tries to help me through it!



Trista. Trista is someone who I have not known for that long. Actually, I just met her when I moved here to Sumner. She has been AMAZING though, and has made this move one that has been easy. You see, I told you that I was scared about moving here and finding genuine friends, Trista is one of those to me! She allows me to be completely myself around her. She is one of the few people in my life who I am able to tell EVERYTHING to. I mean EVERYTHING! Her 15 year old son said to me the other day, "I think you and my mom are long lost sisters", and I will be honest with you, I think he could be right! This year, as I was diagnosed with PCOS, I thought it was the end of the world, I didnt feel like I would have anyone to talk to about it, because noone would understand, God blessed me with Trista! She has it too! I can share this here, because God has done some amazing miracles in her life through it! When I was diagnosed, the doctor informed me, that it may be that when the time came and I was married and ready for children, I just might not be able to have them. I was DEVESTATED! I have always dreamed of being a wife and a mom...and that dream seemed to have been shot down. But as I sit with Trista, in her home, having heard that her doctor said the same thing, God has assured me he is BIGGER! Because, we sit in her home, with her 15 year old son, her 7 year old son, her 3 triplet sons, and her beautiful daughter, and I see that with God it is all possible! She is an amazing mother who I am blessed to know and model some of my life after! She is someone who knows and understands this thing I deal with, when I thought noone else would! We can sit and talk for hours in her house, on the phone. We just talk! Shes an inspiration to me and she is someone who, has dreams for me just as I have dreams for myself. She wants to see me happy and she wants to see me succeed.



These 4 women have been AMAZING inspirations in my life! I am sharing these women, because I know we all have these people in our lives, those people who make us better and stronger. Without them in our lives, we would not be the same. I also want you to see and understand this, I have had the priviledge and chance to also BE friend to many people. So while this post, I shared with you those who have poured in to me, and these are just 4 of MANY people who have poured in to me, next post, about friendship, I am going to share with you some of those people who God has blessed me and allowed me to impact. Not in a conceded way at all, more in a way of humbleness, that God allowed me to be a part of his plan. THat he chose to use me and bless me through that! How great a gift!

I also want to share in other posts more of those people who have poured in to me, so look for your name in future posts :) To all of you who have been my friends, who have taken the time to pour into my life, I want to say, THANK YOU! You have made me who I am today, and you continue to spur me on to make myself a better person each day of my life. I am blessed because you are part of my life! I will never be the same because of you in my life. Lets continue to serve and love our GOD together!