I have this friend. She is probably the quirkiest, sweetest thing I have ever met. We attended all four years of high school together. The first three years we were classmates but never were very close. Something clicked our senior year. I remember camp outs in her dorm room, prom and senior trip.
She has such a big heart and gives without a second thought of what that might mean for her. To be completely honest... I think the last time I saw her was our graduation day. Which was almost 4 years ago.. Wow.. That's so long ago.. She is a constant in my life. It does not matter how many years have gone by, she is one of the most reliable people in my ever changing life. About a year ago, she calls me and says "Don't freak out. I'm fine. But I have to tell you something." I braced myself for what was coming. "I needed to tell you because the meds have stopped working..." I hear her voice continue to explain everything but my mind is in a cloud. I heard my heart say, "Lord, give me strength to help her in this." I took a deep breath and said "Okay..what do we do?"
My friend had been diagnosed with Lupus. For those who don't know about lupus, it is a long term autoimmune disease. The symptoms normally affect the skin, joints, kidneys and sometimes the brain. She had informed me the steroids were no longer working and they needed to do some drastic treatment. I'm happy to report that today, things seem to be on the upswing with treatments. The amount of strength and positivity I have seen in this woman the last year has astonished me. She hates needles...I mean like hates them. Yet a couple
times a month she sits without complaining as they poke and prod her. She has remained by my side through my ups and downs, never skipping a beat. She recently got a tattoo that said one word. "LIVE." She said she was tired of just getting by and was ready to start living again. Through literally fighting her body from self destruction, she comes to me and asks how I am? She is worried about how I am handling everything. Haha. I wanted to smack her. I was like, you don't get to be the strong one in this, Missy!! What an example though. In her darkest hour, her heart still worries not of herself but those she loves. She s one of the best people I know and I thank God every single day for her. One of her favorite characters is Tinkerbell from Peter Pan. I understand why now because she goes around giving people the faith to persevere and know we can conquer anything with Christ. So here is to you,
my friend. With faith, trust and pixie dust. ;) I love you!
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