You've Got A Friend in Me...

My greatest pecan this week came in the form of a letter from a dear friend. She's someone that supported me during the worst time in my life. A time that I honestly did not think would end or that I would survive. It did end and I did survive. I didn't just survive, I thrived. Or at least I am thriving now after years of survival. I could not have survived without my friends and family. They were my backbone.

One thing that I have learned on this life journey is that God brings people into our lives on purpose. There are no accidents. We meet and interact with people on a daily basis. Some of these people stick to us as if they are a piece of glitter which never goes away, while others brush by us as if a feather, and some are like magnets with a pull that draws us to them. All three kinds of people, glitter, feather, and magnet, are supposed to be in our lives no matter how long or how brief the encounter. They are there on purpose.

Glitter people are the kind that we warm up to and they are an important part of our lives. These people might be coworkers, neighbors, or other members of our churches. Where they come from isn't as important as what they can do in our lives. In my opinion, these are the people that we are extremely close to for a certain time in our lives, and then our relationship fades away, but the connection will never be broken. When in need, you are there for each other. That's kind of like glitter, it's all over you for a while, then it's gone, but then later on it's there again. Even though you thought it had disappeared, it's still sticking around. I've been blessed with so many glitter friends and I love every single one of them. I thank God everyday for my Glitter people. They make my life sparkle and shine because of the memories that I have from the moments in time we shared.

Feather people are the kind we meet in grocery stores, on the street, or in coffee shops. These people are the kind that brush by us like feathers, light to the touch, but no doubt it was there. These are the kind of people that I want my Jesus light to shine the brightest at, hoping that they can see His light shining out of me. In all honesty, I'm hoping it blinds them. No matter how brief these encounters they can be meaningful as well. We all have times when we brush up upon feather people, but it's how we treat them that matters. We can have blinders on and pretend that they are not there (which I do at times) or we can look directly at them and hope that we can be a brief blessing. I think of "Pay it Forward" when I think of feather people because when reaching out and doing something kind for someone else is put into motion magic happens. When we stop and take the time in the moment with these Feather people, those moments can be the ones that bless us deeply. They impact us for a lifetime. Those moments might be simple, like giving someone the last five cents they need to pay for something, or buying a stranger a cup of coffee, or purchasing the last of the groceries for a single mom with a small infant whose food stamps weren't enough. Feather people are powerhouses in our lives even though our encounters are so brief because of the impact they leave on us. Our hope should be that we impact the Feather people as well. That something they saw in us or that we did for them touches them and impacts them too. Feather people should be cherished.

And then we have the magnet people. These are the ones that we are so attracted to that we cannot deny we belong together. These friendships are the backbones of our lives. These people are instantly in our lives, and we can even see that our meeting was no accident because we are meant to be in friendship with each other. The friendship is like a magnetic field constantly pulling each other back to one another. Pushing against each other at times, but always lining up and strengthening each other when attached properly. God has blessed me with many Magnet friends too. There is no denying that these relationships are usually the strongest in our lives. Everyone needs magnet people. They may be your posse, your tribe, your framily or your BABBS(they know who they are and will get this- don't worry). Whatever you call them you know that your existence would be less without them surrounding you. Your existence is better because of each other.

I believe that God puts all three types of people in our lives on purpose. We all need each kind, Glitter, Feather, and Magnet, to feel complete. All three of these make us balanced. Our purpose is to make the greatest impact on others by letting our Jesus lights shine. The brighter the better.

And that's where the letter comes in to play. My letter was from someone that is a glitter friend. It was my pecan because it reassured me that becoming The Pecan Seeker is what I am supposed to embrace at this point in my life. I need this and so do others. We need to embrace and become aware of the smallest blessings in our lives-the Pecans. Friendships are truly one of those pecans. Love one another. Make each other laugh. Pay it Forward. Our existences are richer for the blessing of friendships. They are pecans.

Letters are Pecans too!