"Forever Friends"..........to Helen

Forever Friends…..

In life, we are given many friends. 

Friends “since birth”, friends from school, friends from church.

We have friends who share “trouble” with us and friends who keep us from same.

Friends who are also siblings and friends who we would have never imagined being friends with except for our life’s circumstances.

I have had the humble honor lately of being in contact with some of my lifelong friends and it has been a blessing.

I purposely dropped by one of such friends this week…I had not seen her in a while....very unusual for us.  

My heart raced as I drove onto her street.  It raced even more quickly as I saw the lights on in her home.  She’s home…she’s here. ….

I quickly stepped to the door which her husband opened…walked into the room and straight into the warm and kind arms of one of my most precious friends.

My tears were heavy….

We caught up on the surface things going on in our life and then she said what I knew would be coming…”okay, now tell me what is really going on in your life”.  I confess that I didn’t go there to share sadness with her.  I wanted to keep things light and “happy”…it was easier to pretend.

But, she would not allow that.

Again…”Lesa…how are you really?”  You can share anything with me.

And, so I did.

It was refreshing to actually be able to bare my soul to someone whom I knew would hold sacred the pain of my heart…who would listen quietly and who would love me through my sharing…

And, she did.

But, even more precious to me is that we didn’t live in the pain…she held my hand as we walked through it, kind eyes staying focused on me as the words tumbled out of my heart…

I shared truth with her.  I shared sadness.  I shared heartache.

And, then my story was over and she said, “Lesa, that is “LIFE”….and, it is one reason God gave us to one another…to help each other make it through this earthly life.

We embraced hard…the kind of hug which will keep you going until next time you meet…even if that meeting is not until heaven.

Her hug was real…I felt it to my soul.

Her love for me was true.  I felt it in my heart.

And, I left with no promises of when to meet next, but rather, with the knowledge that our love and friendship would last until that time…whenever it was.

I drove home…no longer alone in my car, but filled with the sweet thoughts of my precious friend.

Once home, I greeted my sons….they  said they missed me…I liked being missed.

I sat down to my facebook page and there it was…a message from my friend.

“I love you Lesa…..You are my “forever friend”.

I am grateful.

Blessings on your day,

Lesa

I Have a Little Mama....

I have a little Mama.

She is five foot two, eyes of blue and spunky.

She’s not always been little.  She is a Mama who sacrificed her own health and well-being in order that my Daddy and my seven siblings could have it.

She’s not only little now…she is “petite”…and, she likes it.  I am glad for her because she has worked hard to become “petite”. 

I never ever in my 48 years considered my Mama’s size.  I never saw her as any profile other than that of being my “Mama”.

She was always and is still my precious, beautiful, Christian Mama.

But, if ever there was a “size” correlation to my Mama it was only in things important.

Mama was “big” when it came to:

Heart:  My Mama’s heart is bigger than that of any other human I know.  She wears it on her sleeves with her children, with her friends and with even strangers on the street.  My Mama’s heart enables her to be a “giver” during her time on this earth….

Mama loves hard.  When you are blessed with my Mama’s love, you feel it to the very soul of your being.

Mama loves generously.  Trust me on this…Mama loves when others would chose not to love.

Mama loves sweetly.  My Mama can love so sweetly that you cannot help but take stock of you own heart to be sure you are loving sweetly as well.

Mama loves unconditionally.  I can honestly say that never one time in my life did I ever doubt my Mama loved me.  I think the same can probably be said about my siblings as well. 

When Mama loves you…it is forever.

Thank God.

Spirit:  My Mama has the kind of spirit that makes you want to sing.  She is perky, feisty, and yet is kind and gentle.  She can compete with the strongest and yet relate to the weakest.

Mama’s spirit is true.  It is based on the love for a heavenly Father and thus, guides her in that path all the days she lives.

Mama’s spirit is brave.  Mama is not a fearful person.  She is brave and at times, bold, because she knows that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord”.  Ask any of her children and most of her “reading” grandchildren what Grammy’s/Mimi’s favorite Bible verse is and they will tell you:  Romans 8:28.  She’s brave because she’s had to be.

When you have eight children and thirteen (and one on the way) grandchildren, you have to be brave.

Trust me on this…our family has children/grandchildren in every color, shape and size.  There are quiet, demure folks, there are bold and loud folks.  There are brave and daring folks and there are the cautions ones. 

We are a beautiful display.. a mosaic formed by the hands of God through the love of my Mama and Daddy.

Body:  My Mama has the most precious human body I know.  Her eyes are the color of the sun right after the rain…when the rainbow is out and the sky turns a sweet blue soas to make the colors of the rainbow glow more brightly.

My Mama’s hair is a lovely shade of gray which people pay much money to achieve…the gray of each stand represents the joys and sorrows of her life.  She keeps it in a cute bob which  shows off her even more cute personality. 

Mama has that kind of face which makes you want to sit by her side and look at her more closely.  She is beautiful.  Her skin is alabaster “pink” and when you kiss it, you can feel the softness and sweetness of her spirit coming through.  It does have its “living” lines indicating a life well spent, but I don’t think anyone looking at my Mama notices those…I think they only see the “laugh lines” of a life well enjoyed.

Mama has a little tushie.  She’s going to kill me for this, but she does.  And, if you want to see it, I believe my sister has a video from our family’s annual “back to school” ritual which Mama always made sure to do for each of her children and grand-children.  Jills’ the youngest…only she could get away with making such a video, but I am sure glad she did.

My very favorite thing about my Mama’s human form is her hands.  I have my Mama’s hands.  Set them side by side, and they look exactly the same.  I am grateful for such a gift because I have a permanent reminder of my Mama right on my own body.  Mama is a “giver”….she has the hands of a giver.  She gives to my Daddy…she gives to my siblings…she gives to my nieces/nephews and my children.  Mama gives love with her hands, she gives discipline.  She uses her hands to provide for her family, she uses her hands to provide for her friends.  It would not surprise me if many of you reading this have received something from my Mama’s hands:  a special dessert, a crochet wash rag, a knitted sweater.  A Bible lesson, a written note, a dialed phone call…

Mama’s hands remind me of Jesus.

When I close my eyes and envision my Mama’s hands, I envision all the love I can ever imagine poured into the forming of her hands because God knew that she would be my earthly model for his heavenly love.

And, possibly yours as well.

I love my Mama.

But even more than the love I feel for her is that gratitude I feel to God for allowing me to be her second born.

Mama is a gift which only God can provide to me.

I am grateful.

I love you Mama..

I love you as only your second born daughter can….

~Lesa Sheryl Millstead-McKenzie