campus transit

I used to wish that my best friend could be here with me at UGA to ride the bus with me. It sounds silly, I know, but my love language is (without question) quality time. Most of the best conversations I've ever shared have been unplanned; they happen in the wee hours of the morning when we'd hoped to have gotten to sleep hours ago, sitting in traffic on the way home from journal shopping, over a groggy breakfast before an 8AM class, in the middle of cramming for a gigantic test the next day, pushing a cart through the aisles of a grocery store, with an unexpected phone call, on long north campus walks late at night, or driving down winding mountain roads on a sunny fall afternoon. I spent many months last year praying for more moments like these with my best friend, and God answered as he so often does, in a way much different from what I had in mind.

I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends.
-Walt Whitman

I've always had friends, but the possession of a best friend has always kind of eluded me. I grew up between two sisters who were best friends; three was a crowd. I suppose I had a "best friend" when I lived in Alaska. Her name was Heather, and I recently found her on Facebook. I remember the day I moved - she came to airport at 6AM to see my whole family off - a pretty impressive gesture for an eight-year-old. I had another best friend in middle school - she helped me through my parents' divorce, and I am eternally grateful for her friendship. Unfortunately, we grew up and grew apart.

I've always fancied myself a best friend kind of girl. I like to get to know people really well - to connect with them - to understand each other's fears, dreams, passions, pet-peeves, habits, and jokes. I like to know how they like their coffee or what their favorite cereal is. It's nice to get past the stage of needing to explain or preface a story in order for the person you are telling to grasp its significance. A few months ago, I was at Olive Garden with a large group of girls celebrating a birthday. I noticed one of my friends ordered sweet tea (which she only drinks when she isn't feeling well) instead of water, and I asked her if she was okay. She was surprised that I knew to ask. Spend some time with me, and I promise I will learn these things about you, too.

This morning I rode the bus with my best friend. I was only supposed to go one stop (normally I would have walked), but we were talking and I forgot to get off. We rode a few more stops, she got off, I stayed on, and eventually I was back where we'd started. In keeping with the typical college student stereotype, I plugged my ears with headphones and smiled as an old familiar song came on shuffle (Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse). He's been speaking to me through music lately. We sang a song at Wesley on Wednesday night that said this:

Your love is deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel
Wider than the gap You filled.

I am so thankful for this Love; it never disappoints.