I know I have told this story a little bit before but I just think this is neat and it went a little further this past weekend.
When I was young - we moved a lot. I went to 6-8 schools in my elementary years. My dad was in retail and then later was called into ministry and then when I was 11 - we went to his first church in the town he has now been in for 28 years.
When I was in the 2nd - part of 4th grade we lived in Benton, AR. And I have always kept this picture around for some reason of my two best friends in the 3rd grade. I honestly didn't even remember their names. We moved after this year and I never saw them again. (on a side note - whoa I need my bangs cut. ha! )
Fast forward about 26 years and I was delivering Harper and my regular doctor wasn't there so I had a different doctor and I was talking to her about where she was from and we discovered we had both lived in Benton and were the same age. A few months later I pulled out this picture and realized the little girl on the right of me just happened to be that doctor! I sent her this picture and we made the connection.
I shared that story on my blog at the time and I think it was Jennifer Francis who grew up in Benton who pointed out that the little girl on the left was a girl named Aamie. We connected over Facebook.
I also recently found my two best friends from 5th/6th grade who I went to church with in Texas this year on facebook. It was so neat connecting with them. Say what you want about social media - but I happen to love it.
If nothing else - this has reminded me of two very important truths:
1. Never burn bridges. You never know later in life who you might cross paths with again. I'm so glad I wasn't a mean girl to Dr. Emily. ha!
2. Something I pray about every day are the friends that my girls will have. Relationships for girls are so important - even at an early age. We moved so much I can't remember my teachers or our houses or much from my childhood - but I can tell you starting at age 4 who my best friends were. And they changed a lot since we moved a lot. But they were important to me. So much that I always treasured that picture of 3 little 8 year old girls. So thankful to know if we would have grown up together - they would have been good friends for me to have had. God has always surrounded me with amazing friends and I want the same for my girls. I know my parents probably prayed for me to have good friends. My friends have had a major role in all the decisions I have made throughout my life and luckily they were almost always pointing me to good choices.
I think it is SO important to be involved with your children at a young age in guiding them on making friends.
Have you ever made a connection on facebook or other social media to something from your past or childhood?
