If I've learned anything in my 38 years it's that without the hard times, I wouldn't be the person I am today. And as many things about myself as I know aren't perfect and I beat myself up for far too regularly... I have finally learned to love myself. And the good Lord knows how many years that has taken!! I have worked very hard to overcome things from my past that although I'd like to say I was over, I finally realized that some things will never stop affecting me -- those experiences are deeply entrenched and become a part of who I am. I'm finally proud of that. We are all the sum of the life we have lived, the challenges we've faced, and the people that we have encountered along the way. Some of those people have brought us encouragement and love, and others have brought us pain and heartache. But all have been beneficial. That's how we learn and grow and become exactly who we are at this very moment. So like I said before... it may have taken me a very long time to be able to say this but I am proud of the person that I am and the challenges I've faced. And I'm now at a place where I KNOW that every bump in the road will only help me... build my character... encourage me to work on things about myself that need to be changed... make me stronger.
I found this poem this morning and I thought about all the wonderful friendships I have made in Auburn. I have loved this town and the peace it has brought to me and my family. And that's not because there's no crime or there's a football team here or it's small or whatever other people say they like about Auburn. I have loved this town because of the people in it. The people... and especially the close friendships I have made. Friends really do make the world go round, and I have felt so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. So here's the poem...
"What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty. He understands. You do not have to be careful. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all - and underneath - he sees, knows and loves you.
A friend? What is a friend?
Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself."
May we all cherish those friendships, accept one another despite our faults, forgive one another of our transgressions, encourage and support one another, and most of all, LAUGH TOGETHER! Sometimes the world out there gets kind of crazy & ugly... what a comfort it is to know we have each other.
