Emily: Thirty People in 30 Days

I process a great deal through memories, relationships, the way people make me think, feel, act, even believe.  Needless to say, the last two years have included a great deal of changing, struggle, tears, rejoicing, embracing, excitement, arguments with people.  The difference is, now I am old enough to process the lessons those people have taught me along the way. The next 30 days will be in honor of one person and the biggest lesson they have taught me along the way. Some will be named, some shall remain nameless. But the importance isn't the name anyway, its the lessons they have taught me. Lessons, that if you continue reading, I'm sure you'll be able to relate...


                             Emily. 

We've all had that friend. The one who knows you, your history, the way you acted when you were ten and saw you grow into who you are today. That's Emily for me. I remember the day she befriended me at our 4th grade Halloween party, and besides a short period of what I don't love referring to, we've been great friends since. I must admit, along the years, she's been a much better friend than I ever was to her. It was Emily who thought up the idea to begin scrapbooks for each other, which she began on my 16th birthday. It was me who never actually followed through on finishing hers our senior year of high school.
She's been through a ton in her life. A ton. And for a great deal of it all, I've had a front seat to watch it all unfold. While her faith seemed so strong and sure, I was just thinking to myself... God you really do have some funny ways of bringing us to you. Through each experience, I grew in my own faith.
So, besides this just being my ode to how great and wonderful I think she is (I do suppose I am biased since she's a great friend of mine), there is a lesson from this...

It's the lesson about picking up right where you left off with people that matter and valuing those friendships. No matter the distance, the length of time we go without speaking (which is less and less now that I've grown to appreciate her as much as I should have years ago), when someone matters, you just pick up. The inside jokes are the same, the fact that you will always have their back remains, and in the end, all that matters is that they are okay. That's what great friendships are about. It's about forgiveness.  Knowing that whatever happened when I was young and selfish (more selfish than I am now...), doesn't matter as much, as the truth that a great friend is there. There is a deep joy in knowing that if i picked up the phone right now and needed a single thing, she would be here. There is a peace that comes from being known well.

So this is my suggestion to you (if you've made it to the bottom of this post) call up that person that is always there, send them an email, tweet them, facebook message, blog about them, send them some snail mail even, and tell them they matter. Thank them for knowing your story and being a supporting character in the chapters that you haven't written yet...