MY FOREVER FRIEND

Friendship is something I have never taken lightly. I have found through the years that there is truth in the theory that friends are put into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I have a very special friend who is my "first" friend - my true lifetime friend. We've literally been friends since the day we were born (she is several hours younger than me - a fact that she will never let me forget). You see, back in the dark ages when we were born, most women didn't have private rooms in the hospital when they gave birth. And, women actually spent several days in the hospital after the birth! That is where our story begins. Our mothers were roommates in the hospital when 'Laine and I were born. They became fast friends - almost sister-like. 'Laine and I grew up together. We shared birthdays and sleepovers and adventures. We shared the sorrow of her losing her mother when we were only about 12. We handled the separation when she and her brothers had to move to Pittsburgh to live with relatives with phone calls, letters and long visits. Over the years we've shared joys and sorrows and accomplishments. For the past eight months we've shared the horror of 'Laine being diagnosed with breast cancer. As with everything in her life, she has faced this illness and the treatments with strength, dignity, a sense of humor and above all FAITH. Tomorrow Elaine faces surgery. I'm asking that you please add her to your prayer lists. Pray for her, for her husband and 2 children, for the doctors and nurses who will care for her. I feel deep in my heart that God is going to use her to touch someone in a special way through this surgery - as he has used her so many times in the past.



"The impulse of love that leads us to the doorway of a friend is the voice of God within, and we need not be afraid to follow it."
Agnes Sanford