A New Thought

We here at To Whom It May Concern have a friend named Lori Lindsey. She will be leaving this Saturday to attend the University of Memphis in Tennessee. Her and I have been friends for a long time now. Not really, but as far as seeing someone just about everyday, it feels long. Even though we might only see each other tri-weekly now. It has been about two years since our first encounter at Dakota’s Coffee House. That night, I was a complete jerk and idiot. I said a lot of things to her that, at the time seemed relevant and fitting. However, I was in error. I prejudged her for the music she liked (and still appreciates), the clothes she wore, and her attitude toward things. I did all of this before I took the time to sit down and find out what she was about. And believe it or not (sarcasm), she really despised me after that night. I can't blame her, I'm just glad she gave me a second chance. Anyway, the point is, I do this so much and it's really starting to frustrate me. God is changing me so much, and it's right before my eyes. I see the way I acted two years ago and think, wow, I was an idiot. I see the way I acted one year ago and I'm still amazed at how immature I was. I now sit here and look at myself and realize that yesterday I was a complete jerk. Yet, yesterday was a stepping-stone in my life; much like every day prior. Each day is a continual process of growth for us as humans. And, as Christians, each day is a recurrent growth process in our spiritual walk with God. We will never get there because we are depraved, but we are commanded to strive for holiness because He is holy.

Sorry, I got off on a tangent there, but it's something that God is working out within me. As I was saying, Lori and I have this friendship that has just blossomed into full bloom. Even though, there are a lot of times that Chase, Lori, and myself would do things together, we still had our own friendship. Much like she and Chase do. Lori and I opened up to each other amidst reliance in our own self-caution. Lori is a friend I can now say (sorry it took so long) that I fully trust. That's really hard because deep down inside, I don't "fully" trust too many people. Tonight I called her up and told her I just wanted to hang out and talk. Chase, Lori, and I just saw Signs last night and peed our pants and got a little teary-eyed also (at least I did), so I wanted tonight to be a dry evening. Get it, dry... wet.. uhh... yeah... uhh... We just went to Wal-Mart and spent most of the evening there. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and just chatted about our history, friendship, and everything else that popped up. She told me that she was proud to tell people that she was going to hang out with her friend Jeff Watkins (as I am proud to call her a friend). That makes me feel really special. And that is always a good thing to feel ;)

"A Friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)