Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


11.25.2004  

Thanks, Part 2

I'm a dork. No, you don't understand. I really am a dork. Seriously. I looked high and low in my car for the bag of Taco Bell Chalupa's that I swore I tossed back there earlier, and it wasn't there. That happened after I rushed out of the office at ten 'til ten 'cause I wanted to make sure I got to McDonald's in time for breakfast, discovered that all those fast food joints on Blankenbaker Parkway are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday (yeah...imagine that...closed on a holiday), and drove back with the consolation that I still had that bag of leftover Chalupa's to look forward to.



But we've already covered the fact that the Chalupa's weren't there, haven't we? Yes we have.



So why am I a dork? Because just as I was about to console myself with the fact that I still have a banana, a granola bar, a couple of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and a little caramel-apple dessert thingy to hold me over until 5:30 this afternoon, I glance over and see the bag of Chalupa's sitting on the desk. The bag that I myself had put there.



Yeah, I'm a dork.



Today, however, I'm a grateful dork...a thankful dork. I've much to give thanks for. What hit me moments ago was the friendships I have. I was telling Darren last night that it amazes me how faithful the Lord has been to provide guys to surround me and keep me afloat. Andrew, Brian, Scott, Kevin, Rob, Jon, Gary, Leeman, Goose, Chriyus, Mike, Brandon, Jim, Jared, Jeff, Royce, Ruszkiewicz...the list goes on. Most of those guys I'd have absolutely nothing in common with were it not for Christ. In Christ, however, I am my brother's, and he is mine.



Such friendship and fellowship has gotten me through some of the toughest times in life, in particular this past month. When I was down (which was often), Pablo would come along and give me a hug. When I needed a word of exhortation, Scott was there. When I needed someone to vent to, Chriyus and Mike listened well. When I needed to talk pidgin, Kev was good for that. When I just needed to talk to them like we've always talked, Andrew and Brian were there to talk about everything...God, girls, surf, school, and food...and not necessarily in that order :)



It's good to know I'm not alone in this life. I'm thankful for that; there was a time not so long ago when I couldn't say that I knew that. It's odd to me that people on campus here don't realize how much of a reclusive person I am; the John they see is the John that knows everybody both at Boyce and at Southern (not something I myself claim, just something that others proclaim), not the John that grew up shutting himself in his room for days on end. They don't know the John that took half his 7th grade year off just because he didn't want to be in school with everyone else. They don't know the John that used to go to a shrink periodically and played chess with the said shrink for over a year. They don't know the John that once had hair, that once hated to be in the ocean, that was known for being a bookworm more than a socialite, that nearly failed his high school sophomore English class...yes, English...no, they don't know that John.



*Sigh*...that John is still here, but he's changed. He's gained perspective through the peaks and valleys the Lord has led him through. Right now, he's in a valley, a long valley, a deep valley, but you know what? He's not alone. The Lord has given him friends to call out to him and help him when he's lost and hurting, and for that, John is thankful.



posted by Bolo | 10:36 AM
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