Friend Like That

Most of you know that title as a Hawk Nelson song. (If you don't, that's okay.)

In Kindergarten, my first (and best friend) was a kid named Jonathan. He was the one person who finally taught me how to tie my shoes using that bunny ear method. I made several more good friends that year. Josh, Natalie, Courtney. (I could go on and on...) We formed a group. As we got older, the group dwindled and morphed a lot. That group still goes to the same school for the most part, but we hardly talk anymore.

In sixth grade, I had different groups of best friends. My best friend in Encounters and Gym was Taraja. My band best friends were Courtney, Sara, Alyssa, and Angeli. My academic class best friends were N'Kayle, Mariah, Jasmine, Daisy, and Estefany. These five I met this year. I also met Sara, Alyssa, and Taraja this year, too. Middle school and all. Courtney I'd known since Kindergarten, and Angeli since first grade. I became good friends with a girl, April, from my Odyssey of the Mind team and my bus. My guy best friends (and my bus buddies) were Roy, Alex, and Tommy. I'd known Tommy and Alex since later on in elementary school. Roy I met that year in band through some other friends in the trombone class (and the bus, of course). My other non-bus-buddy guy best friend was a guy named Peter, who I'd met in second grade when he transferred to my class from another.

At church, I'd had best friends come and go like the wind. I still do, sometimes.

In seventh grade, my best friend was a guy I met when I was in fourth grade, Alex (A different Alex than aforementioned). My other best friend was Katelyn, whom I'd met that year in several of my academic classes.

In eighth grade, my best friend was Mayra, a girl I'd met in P.E. in seventh grade. 

Then I stopped having best friends.


_______________________________________________________________________

Yeah, I understand that you're thinking, "Lisa, you've already written a post on friendship. Shut up." I get it. You don't have to read this if you don't want to. But I want to clarify some things.

I'm not sure if any of the aforementioned people had ever considered me THEIR best friend, but I hope I have shown friendliness to everyone I've come into contact with.

Anyway.
I considered these people my closest friends because each of them had something about them that we bonded over. We had our share of differences (boy, did we ever!), but we could tell each other anything. I could trust them with my secrets and problems, and vice versa. We could laugh like there was no tomorrow, and we had fun. We fit into each other's lives like missing puzzle pieces.

One thing Ben Stuart made very clear on Thursday night of camp (as he had the year before) was finding a Christian accountability partner of the same gender, a best friend that would keep you on a straight path. I'm still looking for one. This is the second year of that search.

I'll leave you with this.

I pray that you find someone you can trust with your life. A husband, a best friend, a family member. I pray that you find each other in time to make a large difference in each others' lives, because you can't keep your feelings bottled up inside. You need someone to share with.

Love you lots,
Lisa


Ed Note (12-23-10): I made a HUGE mistake in forgetting the four guys and April mentioned in yellow. (That's why they're in pink.)