The people who become family

It amazes me how incredibly blessed my life is through the friends in it. Growing up, I had a couple of close friends, people who were my constants because I was afraid to let anyone else in with all the instability in my life. I was content to stay with the few friends who had been there through it all because only they could truly understand me.

However, God had different plans in mind. He moved me four hours from home and out of my comfort zone to a city where I eventually found this amazing circle of friends, people who have learned to love me unconditionally and who I have felt safe enough to disclose my past to.

Tonight, one of those friends called me upset and I dropped everything knowing she needed me. We sat and talked and then went out for half price appetizers with our third and the entire evening left me feeling content, knowing that no matter where life takes us, the three of us are always going to be best friends and we're always going to be there for each other through the ups and downs of our lives.

People make fun of me when I say that I have more than one best friend but it's true. I have one "best friend" who has been my best friend since we were growing up behind each other and who always gets told absolutely everything but I also have other best friends, people I know I can pick up the phone and call and they will understand me. They are the first people I want to be with when I'm upset and want to cry. They are the people who can always bring me up when I'm down and who encourage me when I'm in a valley.

It's impossible to say that I only have one best friend because for me that's just not how it works. Instead, I have an amazing circle of best friends, people I love unconditionally and who show me that same love in return. I am so truly blessed to know that the people who started as friends became my family and that it will always be that way. Sometimes it's just the smallest things that give you those reminders. I hope my best friends know how blessed I am and how much I truly cherish them and I hope I show them that in return. Life would be so different without them.