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| Georgiana Sook Class of 2019 |
Recently, I've been reading C.S. Lewis's book The Four Loves. In it, he talks about the love involved in true friendship, and I have so deeply appreciated the accuracy with which he describes it. I have long considered friendship one of the dearest gifts I've been given in this life-- something I value above freedom, health, and prosperity. Lewis quotes Emerson when he says friends are those who "see and care about the same truth" that we do. I currently live with two of my dearest friends, one of which I have known for more than 15 years. The following is an amalgamation of words I threaded together for her birthday a few months ago. May it be a testament to gratitude and appreciation that saturates my heart. When it comes to friendship, I have been given much more than I will ever be able to match.
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
C.S. Lewis
to my best friend on the day she turns 21
on november 26th, 1996
the whole world was gifted
everything shifted
and I would know because
my heart started beating
for the very first time.
you'll forgive me for not remembering
God was just assembling
me
I was the size of a sesame seed
since I didn't have a brain and therefore
can't recall the act,
you're fair for your doubts
about my knowing it's a fact
they say that a baby's heart starts to beat
between 4 & 6 weeks
after she's conceived.
I did the math
I counted the days
and then I sat back and smiled
at the Lord and his ways.
the day you were born
my heart came alive
it refused to start beating
until you’d arrived
God knew I needed you.
so he kneaded you into my life like flour
into dough
an inseparable part of me from the very get-go
someone who understands not because I told her
but because she was there
someone who breathed the exact same air
I swear, there's a million things we shared
we learned the same faces and the same places
we kicked the same soccer ball, shopped at the same crummy mall
had to follow same dress code, got around on the same back roads
I've never sat once around wishing you knew
what it was like to walk a mile in my shoes
because we've been sharing our souls for years
years
of being ears
of wiping tears
of fighting fears
of talking about peers
of planning careers
every austere frontier
in life seeming unclear
but you were always here
from mud pies to make up
through boys' lies and breakups
you've had my back through it all
and I can still stand tall knowing that
when the team is so close winning
and it's the bottom of the last inning
and I strike out
I can still run home to you.
with tweezers and a magnifying glass
you remind me that these things too shall pass
as you pluck out the shards of all the broken promises
I tried so hard to hold onto,
you pour on cleansing truth, even knowing it will burn
patient, not once asking when I'll ever learn
I've kept all of your notes and I now have a symphony of encouragement so that even on days I've been kicked in the stomach and knocked to the ground
I can listen to the sound and
look up
and stargaze instead of scar gaze
your harmony
has always made my melody
sound a little less wrong
a little more like a song
worth singing along to
you've seen me down like gravity
when my chest was just another rotten cavity i was filling with cotton candy, not understanding why it kept melting away
you saw and you stayed and you listened and you prayed
you've seen me high up on cloud nine
where the sun shines
when the words of my life all seem to rhyme
your presence is the underline
you're the highlight
amongst the black and white
reminding me to look back and pointing out all the best parts
the Son shines through you on the rainy days
reminding me of Him in so many ways
the colors look a little brighter
the burdens feel little lighter
I would say that you balance me out
but the truth is
things really aren't even
you always give more
kind to the very core
better than I ever would have known to ask for
you perform the chore
of loving me like it's fun
and I love you
through all seasons and weather
together we're tethered
so know, my friend, that you are never alone
never on your own
Holy Spirit within you
and me by your side
when the storm gets rough,
go on and welcome high tide
this ain’t no paddle boat tied to the dock
this is a friend ship anchored in the immovable Rock
so my hope this year is that you'll be bold
leave all your insecurities out in the cold
girl, you are beautiful, wise, and true
we'd all do better to be more like you
keep giving out love like it's all that you've got
and when given a chance, baby, take your best shot
confidence makes a lotta sense
when you walk the balance beam with your whole team
ready to catch you if you fall.
so do it all
we got you.
Georgiana Sook, of Owensboro, Ky., is a junior McConnell Scholar studying English, psychology, philosophy, and political science.