You Cannot Stop Me

I'm an extremely pragmatic person. And I think this particular trait of mine has led to two particular developments. One of them has probably always been there, though I didn't recognize it. The other is more recent.

I'm pragmatic about the Bible/faith. Other people seem to have a hard time believing things that the Bible says. I don't understand that. I understand having trouble applying it; I understand struggling with surrendering areas of my life. I understand the sin side of things. I don't understand people who hear things from the Bible and say, "Yeah, I have a hard time with that." I don't understand people who mentally comprehend things, but they can't seem to commit to them because. . . . I don't even know why.

Don't get me wrong; I don't think there is something wrong with those people or that they aren't Christians or anything like that. I just can't relate to that response. I can't even really sympathize, let alone empathize.

The other thing is faithfulness or loyalty. I didn't realize how important loyalty was to me until I wrote my book. There are three main characters who are "the good guys." Each of them is extremely loyal. It doesn't matter what you do to them; it doesn't matter how you strain a relationship; nothing can stop it.

That's me. It's not an emotional thing. It's just the way things are. I have certain friends. There is absolutely nothing that they can do, short of killing me (or maybe my family), that would stop me from being their friend. Nothing. They can leave; they can not talk to me. But if they desire the friendship, it's there.

I don't have very many of those friends. It's something that I probably should work on being more active about. But there are certain people that I love; and they cannot stop me from loving them. Even if they never talk to me, they can't stop me from praying for them, from thinking about them, from wondering how they are, from checking up on them via the stalker-friendly wonders of social media.

In the last few days, I've gained a new one of these friends. We haven't talked much at all. Tonight was our first real conversation but I had already decided I was her friend on Thursday. A new thing has happened though - something new, and I find it exciting. It's spilling over into her family.

Friday, I saw her dad in the grocery store. Normally, I hate seeing people I know at the grocery store. I'm just trying to get my shopping done; I'm not there to talk. But I gave him a big, genuine smile and waved (we were on the opposite ends of long isles). That just doesn't happen.

I like making those friends. Even if they never know. Even if they leave. Just making them in the first place is awesome. Having no boundaries on how much you're going to pour into someone is a wonderful feeling. Requiring nothing in return, just dumping whatever kindness you have into them.

I love my friends. :)