I met one of my best friends on Craigslist…

I’ve thought a lot about my friends and my life the last few days. It’s amazing the unexpected things that occur in life, and how quickly those things help us identify who is really there for us. If someone had told me a few years ago that one of my best friends, one of those people who would always be there with advice when I needed it, the ability to listen, and the ability to encourage me to pursue what is important to me, was a woman I met on Craigslist, I would have laughed. I mean, really? Craigslist has some pretty cool stuff, but best friends? Not likely.

I have many friends from church, and several of my church friends are even some of my closest friends, too. Yet, lifelong, close friends from church doesn’t surprise me. I don’t know why, exactly.

In 2009, I got the privilege of watching an amazing little girl, and therefore meeting her parents. And her mom found me on Craigslist. And 8 months later, my life fell apart, and I could no longer watch their little girl. I figured we would never speak again, even after her mom told me “you’re in our life forever, my daughter loves you, you won’t get rid of me that easily.” I laughed, on the inside of course. “Aw, how sweet of her, but I doubt we’ll ever talk again.” Boy was I ever wrong. We talk every day. And I value her opinion, even when she tells me I look like shit…which for the record, she’s never actually done. My ears just weren’t working!

My little sister is also one of my closest friends now, which I never expected. And there’s the bestie that I overwhelmed at church because randomly, sitting in a classroom full of one year olds, I blurted out 90% of my life story. The people who stand behind me when I need a push, in front of me when I need to be guarded, beside me when I need a hand to hold, and surround me with their love, are priceless. I value all of my close friends. I would do anything for them.

I guess this just has me thinking a lot about how blessed I am. I think people only get to take away from our lives when we let them. People come, and they go. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But they come and go, and yet some stay. I try to remember to always learn from people whether they are coming, going, or staying. I try to remember that each person in my life is there to teach me something about myself, my faith, my strength, my lack of strength, or just about the world and people in general. I am a people person, and I know more people than I ever realized, and to list all the people in this post that have touched my life would take more time, and more space, than I have now.

Thank you all for being a part of my life, for shaping who I am, and for crossing paths with me on this crazy journey called life.

And just know, when you tell me about some great find on Craigslist, I don’t ever think of the stuff I’ve found, I think of the friend I found.