The Power of Friendship

      Something that I am grateful for this week is the gift of friendship. I have always been thankful for my friends but sadly, it took a tragedy to realize how truly grateful I am for them. It also made me realize how much I love them. I can't even count how many times I said "I love you" these past few days. I realized now more than ever how important it is to say those words to the ones you love because you never know when they will be gone. 

        Earlier this week I told my friend Joe that I have never been more eager to see him, and this is true of all of my friends in Sleepy Eye. I just wanted to hold onto them forever and to wake up from the nightmare. 

         During holiday and summer breaks at college we usually get our crew together and go to half off apps at Applebee’s, have bonfires, walk the streets of Sleepy Eye, and find any other fun we can make for ourselves. Except this break was different: all of us were home to mourn the loss of our friends Tyler, John, and Payton. Knowing that we needed to be together, seven of us decided to load up my family van and head to Applebee’s for half-off apps. I can’t really explain it but in those few hours we spent together I felt comfortable, at peace, and incredibly grateful to have each of them in my life. Even though we may not see each other often, we are always able to pick up right where we left off, which I think this is a true testament to how strong our bond is.  Realizing this got me to thinking about when my class was told that our friendships from high school wouldn’t last.  This could not be more false. Some of my greatest and closest friendships are with my high school friends that I spent this past week with.

         Going to Applebee’s reminded me of one of my memories with Tyler. In high school, a group of us would wear crazy hats and go to Applebee’s and enjoy the attention and looks we got from people. How this all started was when Tyler, Joe, Mitch, and Aaron picked me up on a warm summer night. They all were wearing hats and I just remember one of them saying “Get in, we are going to Burger King”. Not the least bit shocked by this typical goofy behavior, I got in and we went. From the looks of it, we made the night for the Burger King employees. I mean how couldn’t we? Five people wearing ridiculous hats acting completely normal? That doesn’t happen everyday. That would be considered a typical night for those guys. They were always up to something. 

         

I will always remember Tyler in this fun and humorous way. He will be missed dearly. He was a friend to everyone, always listened to what others had to say, and was accepting of those he met. 

 I will forever be reminded of Tyler when I see the serenity prayer. He had it tattooed over his heart after his sister passed away just nine months before he did. He lived his life by these words, and I think there is something we can all learn from it. What I have learned is that we can't change what happened but what we can change is how we decide to live our lives. 

God, grant me the SERENITY

 to accept the things I cannot change,

 COURAGE to change the things I can, 

WISDOM to know the difference.