Friendships found in unlikely places

Over the years, I have been blessed with some great friendships. In fact, I have so many really great friends, especially from my college years. Friendships often come from the most unlikely places. I met my friend Blake when he was a “potluck” suitemate in the dorm. We had everything in common and were instant friends. My friend, Trenton, was also a unique friendship. His dad dated my mom in high school (yeah, that was pretty weird at first, but we became friends later at college, and well, he is just an awesome friend. I met Dakota when we were orientation leaders in college, and he shared my love for sports, and he has remained a close friend. My friend, Wiley, I met on the first day of college. He introduced himself as “Wiley,” but I could never find him after that. Come to find out, his real name is not Wiley—that is his nickname, so it took a while before I found him again, but we ended up having some really fun times. I even have a friend, Daniel, who is actually my mother’s first cousin. We have been friends since we could talk. Each friendship is unique and different—but when God places someone in your life, you never know how he is going to use that person to shape you and mold you.

However, one friend of mine—I didn’t see this friendship coming-- happens to be from France. Yes, France. I can’t pronounce his last name, I can’t pronounce the town where is he from in the South of France, but he is going to be the best man at my wedding. I know it is a little clichéd, but his name is actually Pierre. I love him like a brother.

I met Pierre in the Graham High School gym. He was 6’7 and an exchange student who was living with a couple in Graham. I took him to Whataburger and ordered a Whatasize meal. He looked at the size of the cup of Coke and said, “That is not a cup—that is a bucket.” We have laughed about this for years. When I visited France a few years later, I realized why he thought the American cup was so huge. They have regulations on soda, and you are not allowed refills in any eating establishment. We spent many lunch periods together, enjoying our buckets of Coke.

Pierre spoke fluent English, and he quickly became my best friend. We shared a love of basketball and the NBA, fried chicken, and discussing history and politics. It didn’t matter that we grew up on different continents in different countries, we just had this instant connection. When he went back to France, we started using Facebook Live to video chat. We have been talking since.

Friendships form over time—and you never know when you meet someone new if he/she may ended up being a close friend. I never imaged all of the friends the Lord placed in my life—and I couldn’t imagine my life without every single one of them.