Friendship is "Priceless" in Any State

When I was laid off from my position last August, I never realized the huge impact it would have on me since I had been working most of my adult life. I thought that I would absolutely be loving the fact that I no longer had to set my alarm clock and fight the miserable, gridlocked traffic of a daily commute. I have to admit that the first two weeks were pretty blissful but by the third week, boredom was starting to settle in. I never even toyed with the idea of what I might possibly be doing if I were not employed anymore, other than look for more work. The one thing I discovered was that I truly missed interacting with other people since I am and always have been a "people person." Barbra Streisand phrased it so perfectly in her song, "People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world."

My biggest issue since I moved to Texas back in 1998 was: I really had no people. Sure, I have my wonderful daughter, son-in-love and grandchildren. My youngest son is also in Texas with my two youngest grandsons but I had no people of my own to call, friends. I'm partly to blame for this dilemma because I never felt like Texas was my home and that all of my best friends were back in California. I wasn't giving Texas a chance and I was really suffering because of this mindset.

So sitting alone day after day got to be extremely, unbearably lonely and I slowly started to become somewhat of a paralyzed recluse which frightened me to no end. I did not want to be a recluse for I am a "people person." Our Heavenly Father never meant for us to be alone either. So after many months of being alone, I decided that I was going to go over and introduce myself to my neighbor across the street who was also, alone.

In the 10 years that I have lived in my house, I only knew my neighbor to the left of me and we seldom spoke other than a simple, hello. This was a defining moment for me as I nervously approached my neighbor across the street who was out doing yard work. As I introduced myself she extended her hand and said her name was, Gabrielle. She is most definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, a most delightful "angel." And I absolutely had no idea that she was saying to herself as she was winding up her garden hose, "Today is the day"...that she was going to approach me, as well. I know and felt in my heart that it was a God thing that brought us together. She has been all alone in her house for over a year and a half and we immediately shared a common ground. She had left her family and friends in Oklahoma and felt like she was in a foreign land just exactly how I felt when I made my move to Texas.

I had her over a few days ago and we spent the whole afternoon getting to know one another, laughing and talking like there was no tomorrow. We drank tea, I made lunch, we exchanged numbers and did a little shopping. It was a wonderful day and we are planning more wonderful days ahead. We are planning to attend Bible Study and church together along with added social functions. Friendship is priceless no matter where you live. God is so AWESOME and GOOD!! My Almighty Father opened my eyes so that I could feel acceptance and love in any state!
-Little Sis Kathi