In Recognition

If you have a friend
Cherish him or her
A moment of love ought to last longer
Then hours of anger, for
There's nothing stronger
Than love that runs deep
And remember a person is not
Something you can keep

Today is a very special day.  It's the day a good friend of mine turns nineteen.  I could hardly be more grateful for his birthday if I had known him all my life.  In less than a year, he has taught me so much about myself, and taught me so much about dealing with life.  He also reinforced for me that the life God gave me really isn't as bad as I imagine it to be.

He is funny.  He is simple.  He is beautiful.  He is not perfect.  He doesn't let me take myself seriously.  It's nothing he does; it's, rather, what he doesn't do.  He doesn't baby me; he doesn't sympathize; he doesn't dwell on his own misery.  He's the kind of person I'm aiming to be.  And even with all his problems, and even with everything he's been through and continues to go through, he's still aMazing.  And by that I mean, he isn't troubled, moody, undependable, mean, or abusive.  He simply is himself.

He doesn't belong in a catalog.  He's not very tall.  He's not terribly stylish; he's not exactly eloquent.  But he's creative; he loves to laugh; he knows how to teAse without being flirty or demeaning.  He can listen to anything you need to get off your chest, but he's not quite a shoulder to cry on.  He's confident.  He's happy.  He's excited.  He knows what he loves to do, and he intends to do it.

Although we haven't spent a lot of time just relating our woes to one another, it seems to me that, in just the last six months, he's grown a lot since I first met him.  Maybe I did not know him well, and maybe he didn't change during our second semester as much as I think; but it looked like he found himself this past year.  If I'm right about jouRneys to the center of the self, he must still be learning – but I've loved every minute of my journey getting to know him.  The specifics of his background, or his trials, or his deepest worries… they are not acquainted well with me.  But for every rough spot he's ever recapped to me, I admire how he's slid over them and landed on his feet as the man he is today.

I would trust him with anything.  He's gentle and he's sensitive, but he's young.  He hasn't aged beyond his years.  He's still got a bounce in his spirit, determined to go on bounCing to spite the trials that scrape us by.  He would keep my secrets, and his very nature will not allow him to belittle or dismiss me.  He just wants to have fun and share that fun.  And I have the immeasurable privilege, the invaluable gift of being his friend.  When I'm talking to him, I find myself finding motivation to handle my weak moments, because I want to be the best person I can be in return for the joy he's added to my life.

God bless a little girl who is wandering through life, and finds a friend like that.

Happy birthday, dear friend.  I can't wait to see you again.

~Meggy