…find that one, that true friend.
I’ve been thinking today how truly blessed I am to have made so many wonderful connections these past years, both in my business, and in my personal life. While so many people I meet are acquaintances, I still consider them friends. They come into my shop or see me in the grocery store, and we always stop and chat about what’s going on in our lives. While I may not know their husbands’ names, or how many kids they have, we know each other’s names and faces, and that’s good enough for me to call them my friend. I have Facebook friends who I love dearly that I have never even met! They expose themselves through their posts, sharing their feelings, and I feel like I know them. When I see their name, and that they’ve joined one of my Facebook “lives,” I feel comfort in knowing they’re there with me, and that they needed to hear whatever it was I was talking about on that day. Some of them are strong, and some of them need my help. That’s how friendship works. It’s give and take. I may have an answer to your question, or you may know the answer to mine.
There are also people who I have known for years, know their families, their parents, and sometimes even their grandparents; I may not see them for months or years at a time, but they’re still my friends. We might have gone to school together, worked together at some point, or they hired me to do some painting, but they’re right there, in my list of friends. I have friends who hang out with me at my shop, or watch ballgames with me. I also have business friends who I rely on for their encouragement, support, answering my questions, and pushing me to do more.
To have friends you must first be a friend. Be that person others come to when they need to talk, laugh, or just share a moment. Sometimes people come into our lives for a little while, and then fade out. You’re friends for a reason; perhaps you shared a hobby, ran in the same social circles, or just needed each other’s friendship for a period of time. I think God brings those friends into our lives to help us with something specific, and then we both move on. I’ve had friends like that, too.
A friend comes in all sorts of packages, and today, my wish for you is to find one friend: one true-blue-soul-sister-I-have-your-back-no-matter-what kind of friend! That’s what I always told my daughters- that they should find one friend that they can go through life with; someone they can go to with anything, any problem, any secret, and that friend will always be there. You know when you need to be there for them, and you’re never afraid to ask them to be there for you. You need a true-blue friend in your court all your life. I have been very blessed to have three of these friends in my life. They have my back, keep my secrets, share my pain, celebrate my joys, and I do the same for them. I am so lucky. These friends understand my heart. This type of friendship far outweighs the quantity of all the other friends you might have, it surpasses unconditional love, it is sealed by the bonds of trust, and without a doubt, it is the very greatest gift you can have.
Tami Loves…all of you who read this, for you are all dear friends in my heart.
