The Most "Glass is Half Full" Person I Know...

I have a friend that is very dear to my heart. She's more like a sister than just a friend. In fact, I think that my family DOES think of her as a daughter and sister...she goes to their house for dinners, takes in movies with my little sister, and snuggles with my nephews! I love this, but I have to make sure that they remember....she was mine first!

Lacy J and I met about five years ago when we were both Resident Assistants in one of the halls on our college campus. The first time I met Lacy J I honestly don't remember her making the impression that we would be good friends upon me. I remember thinking that she was really sweet and nice, but I already had so many good friends from University and I didn't think that I needed another one! What did I know!? We met the spring before we would become RAs together. A few months later we pulled into the parking lot in front of the dorm, ready to unload our things. We connected a bit then, helping one another move our things into our rooms. We had meetings, training, and became pretty good friends, but it wasn't until March of that year that we really clicked.

We went on our staff retreat, and I remember staying up all night simply talking to Lacy. We had so much in common! We liked so many of the same things, we had the same faith in God, we were both farm girls at heart, and we loved to laugh at ourselves! Lacy and I discovered that we had even played one another in high school volleyball games years back. It was amazing to see how connected we should be, yet at that point we were not yet there. Shortly after that weekend, Lacy went through a huge change in her life. It was a shocking change, and she had to trust God in ways that I had never seen before. Watching Lacy go through that time with such incredible grace and dignity solidified her character in my mind. I knew that this bubbly, optimistic, trusting, faithful girl was someone that I wanted to be close friends with.

We began to go for walks. Every night we would walk around a local park in the dark and talk. Sometimes the topics were deep...sometimes they were surfacey and funny, but they were always important, because I was talking to my Lacy J! Lacy J and Stacy K we were! We had so much fun, and our friendship grew and grew from a formal, work friendship into a life-long, "I know everything about you" type of friendship!

When I moved to California, Lacy was one of the first to come and visit me! She actually lived there with my roommate and I from October to December and we had amazing, fun, interesting adventures! We grew even closer than before. When I came home from my first trip to Canada, Lacy was the one to pick me up from the airport and stay up all night talking about this guy, Kevin, with me! It was only natural that she be a bridesmaid in our wedding! Kevin adores Lacy as well...he is always telling me how lucky I am to have a friend like her.Lacy is an amazing person. She has made a bigger impact in my life than many people I know. I have learned so much about heart from my Lacy J. Lacy has the biggest heart of anyone I know. I have NEVER seen Lacy be mean to anyone, or even say a cross word about anyone! Lacy cannot manage to get on my nerves, because she is so incredibly kind and happy! Even when Lacy is in the midst of the most difficult trials she lifts her head, smiles that incredible smile and gives her little Lacy giggle! Lacy has a love for God that controls her very life. She does what she feels God calling her to do, even when it does not make sense to anyone else in her life! Lacy is in constant communion with her Father in heaven, and I have rarely seen someone who so completely includes God in every aspect of her life. I have learned so much about having a relationship with God from my sweet friend Lacy.

Lacy J, thanks for your friendship! You mean more to me than I will ever be able to express. I love your eternally optimistic attitude. I love your girlish outlook on life. I love how you always include God in your life and I love your commitment to serving Him. I am blessed to have you in my life. Your loving commitment to your friends and family makes me feel honoured to be considered one of your close friends! I miss you and I can't wait until the next time I get to hang out with you and laugh until I cry!