Friends I Wish I Stayed In Touch With

Over the course of my life, God has expressed His grace through various friendships that have sheltered me from the damage of a dysfunctional family environment. Some of these friends I hear from through assorted social media outlets, while others are just a memory longing for another tangible connection. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a starter to those I wish I had kept in touch with:

Katrina Celeste Stutts. I am sure her last name has changed since our child hood. Nevertheless, Katrina was my very best friend growing up. We both lived in the trailer park together, where her family sold mobile homes. These memories take me back to LaGrange, GA where summers were filled with roller blading and Super Mario Brother 3.  Man we loved that game! Katrina was a solid foundation of friendship (nothing romantic) in an otherwise unstable world. I just enjoyed hanging out with Katrina. I also remember thinking she was rich because her family owned a double-wide trailer.

Spanky. I don't know his real name. He moved into the same trailer park and probably was more of a bad influence than anything. Nevertheless, he was a good friend. I remember distinctly one time where he got a new pair of Nike shoes. Back then at our school, you were "cool" if you owned a pair. My family couldn't afford them, so we were never in the "in" crowd. So, when Spanky bought a new pair, he gave me his old pair. The other kids at school asked if they were Spanky's old shoes and he denied it to save me the embarrassment. He also took me to Florida, all expenses paid, to go to the beach one summer. Great memories.

Gary Beagle. Actually had the opportunity to reconnect with him over Facebook. We lived in the lower income housing together in Mineral Wells, Texas.  He introduced me to comic books and really started my collection. My favorite memory was covering an entire wall in comic books by hanging them from their sleeves (some sort of sin to collectors, I'm sure). He was a best friend and was someone I could just hang out without any worries. His mom, sister, and brother-in-law kind of took me in and felt "at home" at his house. Eventually, Gary was sent to a boys ranch and we lost touch.

Mason Matthews. He's the whole reason I went to Wayland University. The summer before we went to college, I was over at his house constantly. His mom made some amazing home made bread. Again, my fondest memories are just hanging out. Oh, and dorm wars. Mason always tried tying me up while I was sleeping in bed. I repaid him kindly by sliding bologna under his dormitory door while he was gone for the week.

Calvary Baptist Youth. So many memories of my friends over at Calvary. Many of our youth group are on Facebook, so I am able to keep in touch. This group of friends was a solid rock during high school. They took me in and loved me through my Junior and Senior years. We spent Saturday nights doing a Bible study that we lead, many nights on the trampoline, and my last night with them was a bonfire out in the country. I honestly could never thank that group enough for memories, encouragement, and constant friendship they showed me.

Chris Brown. Perhaps the one friendship that changed my entire course of life. Chris was my absolute best friend through High School. The guy constantly paid for me when we ate out, was constantly encouraging me, and was closer than a brother. We did so much stupid stuff together from making stop action videos to countless hours of Command & Conquer and programming IQ Tests in BASIC. I remember listening to Jesus Freak for the first time with Chris and many memories in the swimming pool. In fact, I lived with the Browns through out the last year of High School. The whole family (love you Kara, Vicki, & Calvin!) took me in, fed me, celebrated holidays with me, and honestly made me feel like one of their own.

So what friends come to your mind while reading this?

2 comments:

  1. there are many college friends that impacted my life that I have been too lazy to keep in contact with. My fault completely.

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  2. Your warm memories of youth group make me think of mine--it was far from perfect, but it meant so much to me to have peers who actually cared about their relationship with God. Add hours talking late into the night, running kids clubs and messy games at camp, and wow, so many great memories.

    I also think of Ariel Walden, my best friend since I was 14. We still hang out when we can, though will likely be going separate ways within a year or two. We've been friends who can count on each other for support, and automatically turn to each other when we need it.

    Sarah Kron McVey--she is probably the friend who changed me the most. It's funny, we've talked about how when we first met each other, we both were thinking, "I'm really not sure about this girl." But as I got to know her and see her trust in God through circumstances I could hardly imagine, I grew to respect her enormously, and just by the fact that she showed me Christ in ways I had never before experienced, yeah, I've never been the same since.

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