I have lots of friends. A lot of people have a lot of friends, in fact.
Still, I think I have them differently.
I have been blessed with a handful of friends that beyond trial and fire will still stand with me, for Christ has bound us tighter than bickering and broken hearts.
We’ve spent years of our lives growing in our separate walks and yet continuing to be quite fond of each other. The Merry Men and Maidens as they are more formally know, will forever be as close as family can be. They sit at the top of this list because they are certainly my first true friends. It is because of the Merry Men that I am the believer and Jesus lover I am today. Encouragement, support, love, grace, brotherhood, family. These are some of the words that come to mind when I think about my dearest friends.
Amongst my time in college I have been encompassed in a growing group of people that are no doubt going to be very special to me as the years go on. I even have the privilege to live with two of them.
In Chicago, in the neighborhood of Woodlawn, there lives another group of people albeit more family than friend. I’d wager these very special people will continue to be something more than, well, just special. From them I have learned and grown so much more than I can ever fully be thankful for. The Sunshine family is one I am privileged to be a part of.
I have a handful of friends that I have been blessed with that reside in the state of Oklahoma, whom, without a doubt, are the most persistent people I know. They are also very quick to show how much they love you. They continue to open their homes and share their lives with me. I never gave Oklahoma much thought until I gained such dear people in my life.
There is one more group of people in Chicago that I have been so very blessed with. The Hamernicks. I owe the Hamernicks more than I can comprehend. They continue to be more than I deserve, and I thank God everyday for allowing me to live life with them. I truly love this family, my other family. There is a special place for each of them in my heart. I look forward to continuing to love them well into the future.
Now there is one person amongst all of these that I am most grateful to have in my life. He is in fact a Hamernick. He is my best friend. Josiah Hamernick may be 6 years my junior, but he is an inspiration, an encourager, a brother, a mentee, a peer, competition, a supporter, and so much more to me. Josiah and I have not been friends for very long, but it seems like we have never not known each other. We have had our differences and even almost what at the time felt like a falling out. We have shared with each other our dreams, our tears, our fears, and our mistakes. He is the kind of friend that I pray everyone gets to have in their life at one time or another. He’s the kind of friend that I fear losing. I dread the day that I’m going to have to say goodbye as he goes off to college, and I will cherish the days that he comes home on break or I get to go visit and disrupt him during class. We couldn’t look any less like siblings and yet we have been mistaken for brothers on multiple accounts. He has taught me so much, and I hope I have shared as much with him. He’s the kind of friend that when you hurt each other you grow closer and stronger because it means you have to make up and forgive one another. I ask Josiah regularly, why he thinks God brought us together the way He did. He usually responds with, “because, we’re supposed to be.” There is so much more that I could write about Josiah, my best friend, but I’m trying to keep this somewhat short. I simply love him.
And so my dear friends, I hope that this little rambling finds a place in your heart. I am so glad and blessed to have each of you as you are. You are gifts that I cannot reason. God has certainly used each of you in unique ways to shape me and simply tell me how much He really does love me.
