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Friendship: The gift of a lifetime
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Published: December 25, 2009
Editor's note: Whether it's by giving money to your church, volunteering to help families in need or offering a friend a shoulder to cry on, the concept of giving plays an integral part in our everyday lives, especially during the holidays. This is the final story in a four-part series devoted to the spirit of giving.
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When it was time to leave, Carla Hearst and her four friends embraced each other.
Their brief visit that afternoon was filled with laughter, a deep understanding and jokes that only friends seem to get.
To make someone a priority in your life, and to care enough to go out of your way to help them is a gift, Hearst said.
"There is such a love," she said. "I think when it is a true love ... when you accept someone for who they are, you are always going to love them. There is a commitment to a friendship."
Friendship and companionship can fill people with warmth and comfort. Crossroads Behavioral HealthCare Director David Swann said humans are social creatures that rely on each other through the good and bad times.
Electronic contact through avenues like Facebook and text messaging don't provide the same kind of companionship one finds in a face-to-face relationship, Hearst said.
"Sometimes, we don't recognize people for giving back those treasures they've given you along the way," said Medina Wilson, one of Hearst's closest friends.
Hearst and her friend Amy Hayes have known each other since they played in the nursery of St. John's Lutheran Church.
Being friends for a long time doesn't mean they have cookie-cutter personalities, Hayes said. It's about loyalty and loving each other as you grow as a person, she said.
"Just to know that she was always there," she said. "Just to be able to have a few minutes of laughter is a gift. You have so much to give and so much to receive, as well."
Chuck Lindler said it's nice to have someone who you can talk to about anything with.
Statesville resident Stacey Potts got her own lessons about what blessings friends can be after a fire damaged her house in September 2008.
Potts left her house Sept. 13 to run some errands for an hour or so.
She returned to the smell of smoke, and the living room mini blinds were up in flames.
Everything was in slow motion after that, she said. She later learned the dishwasher started the fire, she said.
Her dog died in the fire, and several items were damaged by smoke or water.
The moral support that she received from her mother, her friends and her church family in the aftermath was unbelievable, she said.
"Mentally, I couldn't have gotten through it without them," she said. "They didn't have to come here and do anything."
Church members handed her son Walmart gift cards to buy shampoo and other personal items. Some bought groceries, Potts said.
It showed her that there are caring people out there, she said. After that, she decided to make an extra effort to help others.
When her fellow church member Lyndra Hedrick was seriously injured in a car accident along U.S. Interstate 40 in late June, Potts decided to help Hedrick's family by organizing a yard sale.
"I've seen how people were so good to me," Potts said. "There are people out there who sacrificed themselves to help people in need."
Sometimes, relationships can be found with the people working around you. The workers in the food pantry at First Baptist Church of Statesville have become buddies through the years.
The group started out in the same Sunday school class, and gradually others in the church have joined
"This class, we are different," said Libby Purcell. "This is another family for me."
The group bonded over their desire to help others..
The mood in the food pantry is light and jovial, despite juggling boxes of canned goods, sweets and meat.
The fellowship and the relationship they've been able to build lets them tease each other in the same way one would expect from their brother or sister.
"We aggravate each other pretty good," said David McDaniel. "It's a great thing."
The faces of her Bible study group at Jurney's of Statesville are a part of Archie Lundy's life.
It started several years ago, when she came to the nursing home on a weekly basis to read to one of the residents.
Eventually, she started to a Bible study once a week, where she befriended many of the residents, including Ada Wallace.
The residents are so loving and thankful, Lundy said.
"They don't like to miss (Bible study)," Lundy said. "They are so grateful to have someone who comes to see them."
Lundy always takes the time to visit with the residents after Bible study is over. Her visits are something Wallace and her fellow residents look forward to each week.
"She's a very sweet person," Wallace said. "She cares about you and has feelings for you."
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