Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My Friends

This is a repost of an old Facebook note. Thinking about it tonight, it still captures my heart, and worth repeating.

My Friends

by Sarah Leslie on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 11:29pm
Okay, so I’m thinking tonight about some deep stuff. Mainly about what kind of difference I have made and will continue to make. I wasted years preoccupied with what others thought of me, and I am so glad I am over that. How painfully I have felt the judgments of others who believe they are better, stronger, richer, more important. I don’t need their stamp of approval upon my life to know I make a difference.

They aren’t the ones that really matter anyway. It’s those who know that life is hard, sometimes even devastating, that I want to have in my life. They are the ones who have the ability to truly love because they have lost, to live because part of them has died, and to care because they have been neglected. I love you just as you are, because I have first been rejected. Judged. Abandoned. Ashamed.

I am no Will Rogers. I do not make friends easily, nor quickly. In fact, I am probably a pretty difficult person to get to know, a mysterious enigma that talks in riddles, tells lame jokes, and hides from those who love me. But if you are my friend, you can be certain of this, I will remain fiercely loyal to you, a trustworthy confidant of your deepest dreams, a steadfast cheerleader in all your endeavors. I accept you as you are, no strings, no expectations, no judgment.

Some of you have known me for ages, others mere months, but always remember this, if you get lost, I will look for you; if you fall into the gutter, I will bring you home; if you are stuck in the muddy mire, I will pull you out; if you are locked behind bars, I will visit and write; if you become ill, I will sit at your bedside. All this is to say, I will not turn my back on you, I am not going anywhere. You, my friends, have made me who I am, and part of you will live forever in me, through every breath I breathe.

I have petty little to offer you in return for your friendship, but I offer what I am, such as I am. If I have tagged you, know that you have made a difference in my life. I cherish you. And always remember, I am here.

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