Cheers Intro

I was having dinner with my girlfriend and we were discussing rather the amount of enjoyment we have in reconnecting with old friends was normal or an indication of how stuck in the eighties we were. As I drove home, I thought more about his question and started reflecting on what it really is about old friends that makes me long for them back. This, of course, led to tons of memories with my childhood friends.

We moved from Sulphur Springs in the middle of my 4th grade year. We moved ALL THE WAY to Middletown (I say that tongue in cheek for those of you not familiar with Henry County) and to me at the age of 9 it might as well have been all the way across the country. I had just made my very first "best friend" that I've ever had....it was awesome. I remember the comfort of going to school everyday knowing just who I was going to play with at recess, who I would be greeted by and knowing that no matter how bad my spelling test went or how grouchy the teacher was....I knew who my BFF was. I remember saying goodbye, crying, and being terrified of my first day in my new school.

As you can safely presume, I did just fine in the move. Loved my house, loved the neighborhood, got some new friends...but something was missing. I knew it, my parents knew it and we all talked about how I just needed to find a few really good friends.

Finally during the 7th grade, I met Amy. Within a few months we were so close that all of the slumber parties, shopping trips and 3 hour phone calls were in full swing...and we never looked back. She and I were considered "twinkies"-they used to tell us that you never see one without the other and that was just fine with me. That friendship provided that same comfort I experienced in 4th grade....I knew just who to look for in the lunch room, I knew exactly who to share my secrets with, we manipulated and planned to be together as much as possible and by the time we went to high school we practically shared youth groups. I love those memories and I still consider her one of my favorite people on the planet. That friendship became a turning point for me and I became a "social butterfly".

My oldest daughter is 15 and at this point in her life has a group of good friends that she cannot wait to get out of the house to spend time with. I have become a taxi driver for her....and I'm honestly ok with it. I am because everytime she leaves the house I remember what it was like to get into the car and head to the ballgames and dances with my friends, to spend the weekend at Amy's to help her babysit her nieces and nephews, go hang out and watch Kevin and Warren's band practice for their next "gig", pretend like I was a cop with Greg and every other stupid thing I did that made me feel the joy that only comes from being in a place where you are confident that you are loved, accepted and wanted.

With every change since my high school graduation there is a new battle within me. I miss the old and fear the new until God places a beautiful friendship in my life that helps meet a need in me that I have had since I was a little girl. I struggled so much my freshman year at college because I just didn't know where I fit...and God gave me Michelle. My first home in a new town, new job and new marriage...God gave me Lori. We moved again, and I had 3 young children that I cared for at home....and God gave me a small group filled with couples that we loved and that loved us back.

God is a relational God and the need to be a part of a community is probably my most important one. I am filled with joy when I get to talk with an old friend and begin blossoming when He places a new one in my life and once again I find myself grateful!