by Michelle Meltzer
I was going through some of the pieces I had written way back when I was a mere child (She says with a chuckle and tongue in cheek) 28 years ago and came across this one. It brought an immediate smile to my face and got my mind to churning. I thought I would like to share it.
A Friend
A friend know that the greatest gift
He can give another is a deeper understanding
Of the world they live in and of life
As only a good friend can
Along with that understanding he helps increase
Your ability to love and believe in yourself and others
A friend knows you as you are and understands where you’ve been
Because he’s been there too
He accepts you unconditionally and helps you accept yourself
A friend is the one person who is always there
With a push when you’ve stopped
Because an obstacle seems to high to climb
A friend is the one person who is always there
With a strong yet gentle hand when you’re frightened
A friend is the one person who is always there
With a seemingly never-ending smile
When you’re sad and depressed and feel the sun will never shine
A friend is the one person who is always there
With a song, sometimes out of tune
When you’re happy and glad and think
Nothing could possibly go wrong as long as he’s there
A friend is one person who does everything
He can for you, out of love for you
He is willing to do anything to make you happy
A friend is the one person who always tells you
“Be yourself” because he knows that’s what you’re good at
A friend is the one person who loves you
Enough to let you be you
He let’s you alone to work things out for yourself
But let’s you know he’s always there if you should need him
A friend is the one person who knows
Where you’re going even before you do
And offers to guide you there
But above everything else
The most special and cherished thing about a friend
Is when he says, “I’ll be your friend no matter what”
AND MEANS IT
(copyright 1979-Michelle Cole)
Now this piece makes you think of a best friend, a life-long friend doesn’t it? It does for me. Someone perhaps I had grown up and shared everything with; someone who I had kept in touch with over the years and stayed close to.
That might have been the case had I grown up in one place and been able to cultivate a best friend such as that. My father worked for the government for a lot of my younger years which meant a lot of moving around then working for the railroad wasn’t much better in the moving around department and finally his hobby of buying houses, fixing them up and selling them kept us moving in and out of neighborhoods when the other jobs didn’t have us going out of state or the country. Have I confused anyone yet? LOL I get that way even now just talking about it. I laugh about it now. It wasn’t so funny back then.
I went to a different school every year until junior high. I actually got to spend two years in one place and make more than just transient friends. I then went on to go to three different high schools before graduating. I went to junior college and my parents moved away on their own.
I brought my moving around while growing up because as I was thinking about this piece and my life to date I realized something. Through out all the problems, trials, illnesses and troubles I’ve faced there have been people who have come into my life and been this type of friend to me when I most needed them. Many I have lost contact with and perhaps not meant to be life-long friends, but rather answers to prayer. Angels sent by God to cross my path and let me know that I wasn’t alone and that I was loved.
Each one of us deserves a friend like this to come along when we most need them and most of us do though sometimes we may not recognize them as such until we look back in hindsight as I have done here today.
I am so grateful for the friends that I have in my life and those who have crossed my path during this life’s journey. Without them and family (no matter difficult or imperfect they may be as well) enduring this life (let alone to the end) would be near impossible for me. For that reason alone I thank my Heaven Father every day for both.
That poem--a nice little poem in its own right--gained greater poignancy as we read your history.
ReplyDeleteI, too, grew up in a transient household, but I carried my best friend with me. My brother is just 14 months older than I, and we had the jazziest time moving around and meeting new people. My mother made everything seem like an adventure--which it was. But, I remember in junior high, looking at other girls who had life-long best friends and wishing I had one.
Well done, Michelle. Nice construction with the poem, the history and then your reflections.
I agree with Liz - the poem meant even more after I read the rest of the story. While I didn't move every year...I attended the same highschool all four years...I moved 13 times before I married and 21 more times in 19 years after that. I, too, have been blessed by angel friends who have supported and rescued me when I needed them most.
ReplyDeleteOne of goals this year is to try to listen and watch for opportunities to be someone's angel when they need one. I feel like it is the best way I can show Heavenly Father my gratitude.
I've been really lucky. I stayed in the same house from 2nd grade until I got married. I had two best friends. The one who saw me through all my goofiness as a child/teenager and the one I married who sees me through all my adult goofiness and still wants to be my best friend. Friends have come and gone through out my life, but I'm so thankful for the two who have blessed my life so abundantly.
ReplyDeleteVery sweet. Thanks for sharing those ideas. For being so young you had some great insights!
ReplyDeleteJennifer Griffith
I'm in the group who yearned for good friends. Thanks for reminding me how much a friend means and now important that we have friends. It's a pretty lonely world without them.
ReplyDelete