A while back, I received a call from a dear friend who needed some help. The request was one that I accepted realizing that it was going to be a stretch for me to pull it off. In my heart though, I knew other friends would have my back (or in this case, neck).
The request was simple. My friend (who is a preschool teacher) was looking for someone to make 8 little scarves in two weeks for her students to receive as gifts during their study of winter weather. The catch: they needed to be knit or crocheted. There was a book that she would be reading as a culmination of the unit, and the scarves would be a part of that story.
I hung up the phone, and then, thought what in the world did I just say I would do. (That type of behavior is my own curse, and fodder for a whole different blog.) Without hesitation, I went to my version of the Bat-signal. Batman had his alert method, and I have mine. Formerly, it was CaringBridge but now it is Facebook. As fast as my fingers could fly, I posted my friend’s request and asked for help. I pledged to create two, but I explained I could use some extra hands and needles/hooks for the remaining six. Within eight hours, all eight were spoken for. And within a week and half, all were delivered into the hands of some little preschoolers.
I never really doubted that they would be, but what amazed me was a comment that another “friend” posted. I should clarify our friendship status. We “met” making a transaction online, and the necessity of that business deal required us to befriend each other. Once we did, we discovered we had some similar interests and thus an online friendship formed. We’ve never actually met one another in person.
Yet in the midst of my friends chiming in that they were on it, this gal’s comments stopped me in my tracks. Sometimes especially when I encounter lemons or changes in plans, I forget just how blessed that I really am. The comment while simple summed it up perfectly.
Kandy, even though we have never met, you must have the most amazing friends.
She was right, and I knew it. Many times those same sweet friends have come to my rescue for all kinds of things including some of my doing. I don’t live anywhere remotely close to my family at all, and most of my husband’s family is fairly far away as well. Sometimes I don’t even have to ask for the help, my friends just know when to call, text, or show up. Somehow they get God’s gentle prompting that I need them.
Proverbs 20:6
Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? (NLT)
Thankfully, in my case, the answer to that question is “I can” many times over. Today, I’m counting each and every one of those blessings, knowing I probably never needed that Bat-signal anyways!