Saturday Spitballin’ with Andy: Old Friends, Fresh Joy

I don’t know about you, but I often get caught up in the chaos of life. School, work, internships, research, blah blah blah I have a lot goin’ on. I’m sure you have a lot goin’ on, too. I’m sure you also have friends that you like to spend time with, as do I. I have friends in my current program and at my work that I like to hang out with. I have friends who I go to church with and who host game nights so we all can spend time together (as I’ve mentioned in another post). But there also are friends from my past I don’t talk to much anymore. I have friends I played football with whom I haven’t talked to probably since we actually played together 3 years ago. I have friends from high school that I haven’t talked to since graduation. But you know what’s awesome? You know what makes your heart leap with joy? Randomly hearing from an extremely close friend you haven’t spoken to in years. Why yes, that is what happened to me, how’d you know?

Yesterday, one of the most amazing people in the world called me out of the blue: my good friend, Amy. We had a very close relationship several years ago but our lives just kind of caused us to drift apart. Until yesterday! After noticing I missed a call from Amy during work, I called her back afterward during a long drive. We spoke on the phone from the moment I left to the moment I arrived at my destination. And I tell you what, this was the best conversation I’ve had in a long, long time. First off, let me brag on my good friend, Amy. This woman works FOUR jobs, which includes being a nurse 5 days a week and leading an extraction troop in the military. She’s a stinkin’ Captain in the Air Force (and up for promotion soon, so hopefully she’ll be a Major!!) for crying out loud! She is such a strong, Christian woman and an inspiration to me as a person. She has motivated me in many ways throughout my life, and I can’t thank her enough for that. I have the utmost respect for her and all other military active members and veterans. Thank you all so much for your selfless and truly courageous service!

Anyway, this conversation brought out several thoughts and emotions for me:

  1. Holy crap I miss this woman and forgot how amazing she is in every aspect of life.
  2. What’s keeping me from contacting other people who are super important to me but who I haven’t spoken to in a while?
  3. I’m so motivated now to make a difference in others and be the best person I can be.
  4. I am just filled with so much joy my face and heart are going to explode.

So. Who’s the Amy in your life? Do you have someone who means a great deal to you but haven’t spoken to in years? What’s keeping you from contacting them? Are you nervous that they will think it’s weird that you’re calling them out of the blue after so long? Well I thought the latter for the longest time. And after being on the receiving end of one of these calls, trust me, your friend will be ecstatic to see your name pop up on their phone.

So why not pick up the phone and call ‘em? If you don’t pick up the phone and call, who will?

Thoughts, Ideas or Comments Here