I once read a poster that said: “Good friends are like stars…You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.” I like that—especially because it perfectly describes my friendships with Angie and Raegan.
Angie and I became friends on the first day of kindergarten. A little unsure of myself, I asked my mother how to make friends on that first day of school. She suggested I go up to another little girl and simply introduce myself. Sounded good to me, so I gave it a shot.
I saw Angie Massette across the room. I eyeballed her all during milk break, and then I marched right over to her and uttered: “Hi. My name is Missy (my nickname) Medlock. Would you be my friend?”
Angie looked at me as if I’d lost my ever-loving mind. Still, she must have taken pity on the little girl with pigtails that were too tight and a faint, red Kool-Aid mustache because she answered, “Sure.”
The rest, as they say, is history. We became best friends that day, and we’ve been friends ever since. Sure, we’ve had other buddies over the years but the two of us were inseparable—joined at the hip. There wasn’t room for any other close friends—until we met Raegan Holiday in fourth grade.
Angie and I lived in the same neighborhood and rode our Huffy bikes all over the addition all summer long. As hot and humid as Indiana summers are, we longed for a swimming pool. Neither of us had one, unless you counted my plastic frog pool. Then, Raegan moved into the addition. And, she moved into the house on the corner with a SWIMMING POOL!
We weren’t sure how to meet this new little girl, but just like Lucy and Ethel—Angie and I came up with a “brilliant plan.” We put on our bathing suits, draped our beach towels around our necks, and strapped on our goggles. Then, we rode our bikes over to Raegan’s house and hung out by the street corner saying clever things like, “Whew! It’s sure hot out here. Wish there was some place we could swim…”
Raegan’s mother, Patsy, must have admired our gutsiness and invited us in one afternoon. We soon discovered that we liked Raegan for way more than her pool. She was a cool kid—who had even won a tiara in a beauty pageant. I was sure it was made of real diamonds.
The terrific twosome became the three musketeers, and it’s been that way ever since. Through dance recitals, cheer camps, fad diets, fashion fiascos, triple dates, proms, heartbreaks, broken engagements, spring break vacations, SATs, college courses, marriages, births, miscarriages, cross-country moves, class reunions and everything else in life—we’ve been there for one another—forever friends.
Some friends are fair-weather. Some friends are for a season. But few friends are friends forever. Those friends are worth more than jewels—even diamond tiaras. I praise God for those forever-kind-of-friends, and I celebrate Raegan especially this week because her birthday was yesterday (Happy belated b-day, Raegan Leigh!) Friends come and friends go, but Angie and Raegan will always be in my life—just like the stars. Here’s hoping you have some stars in your life, too!
Pray this with me: “Father, thank You for placing such amazing friends in my life. Help me to never take them for granted. And, Lord, help me to bring glory to You in all of my relationships. In the Name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”
