A True Friendship

He was a boy, but not just an ordinary boy. No ordinary MAN. Ed was a man of love, a pure love. God’s love. One evening he was just minding his own business talking with a friend. “Hey man. So what are we going to do tonight?” Tex asked. “Not sure man, you want to catch a movie?” Ed responded. “Hmmm…. Sounds like a legit plan,” said Tex. At that moment, a girl from Ed’s class walked up to them. She had caught his eye in class before, but they had never talked before. He figured she was a new student since he hadn’t seen her around the previous semesters.  When he saw her in class he had just thought she was another face in the crowd. There was no doubt that she was attractive. Her hair was as the best shade of blonde he had ever seen. Her hair flowed like a waterfall in some tropical environment that reflects the sun in just the perfect way. She glowed brighter than the sun on its brightest day. Her eyes were the best shade of green there was. It was like the bluest sky combined with the greenest grass. For some odd reason she stuck out more than any of Ed’s other girl-friends.

            This caught Ed off guard a little bit. When she got to them she said “Hey!” Without thinking too hard Ed and Tex responded in unison, “Hey!” The mystery woman introduced herself “I’m Elise!” She had been smiling ever since she walked up to the boys. The boys introduced themselves back. “Ed.” Said Ed. “Tex.” Tex responded. Elise seemed to pay a little bit more attention to Ed. She had all focus on him. “We are in lit class together.” She said. “Yea. I know your face.” As they were talking, Tex wasn’t mad or anything as he kind of smirked and told Ed “Hey, I’ll catch you later Ed. Elise, it was nice to meet you!” “Nice to meet you too!” Just like that Elise and Ed were alone. As Ed and Elise were talking, there were many thoughts going through his head that caught him off guard as well. Now these thoughts were not impure. They were thoughts of things he hadn’t felt in long time. Things that seemed different. After talking to her for a few minutes, he already knew that this was the start of a new journey of friendship. He didn’t know why he knew this. She was… “Different.”

            She started asking Ed the basic questions to get to know someone. “So where are you originally from?” she asked. “Iowa” Ed responded.

 “Oh wow! That is definitely not what I was expecting to hear.”

“So what is exactly that you were expecting?”

“ Hmmm… Maybe like North Carolina or something up north.”

“I heard that northerners were kind of jerks.”

“Oh really now?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I hear!” Ed smirked at his own response.

“Well I was born in Maine!” She shot back in a joking manner.

“I don’t think that really counts as the north. That is more of just somewhere that is… Out there…”

“Oh really now? Well I’m not a weirdy I guess, since that’s not where I’m actually from. I’m actually from Alabama.”

“Alrighty. So a northern born southern girl?”

“Exactly!”

“Ok… I can live with that.” Ed joked.

            This girl really WAS different then others. It wasn’t just because of their conversation that Ed had this thought. It was just something he kind of felt. Not something weird or creepy but something authentic. She was beautiful and funny. The beginning was good so far. Ed is not one to jump into a relationship with someone unless he has gotten to know them. He was a normal guy with a loving heart and the motivation to seek righteousness out of a situation whether good or bad in his eyes.  What was so different about her that caught his attention? Attractive girl, just like a lot of his girl friends, but still something different. Something he couldn’t explain but only know.

            There conversation came to a close. “Well I actually need to go,” said Elise. “ I just wanted to meet you since I don’t know a lot of people on campus.” “No problem. It was nice meeting you too!” Ed responded. “I’ll see you around!” she said in kind of an excited way. “ “I’m always around!” Ed said in response. He watched her walk away for a couple of seconds. In a matter of seconds he had gone from feeling “normal” to a feeling of… excitement? Confused? Different? Maybe confused in the sense of confused as to why he was feeling the way he felt.  His motives were pure in his thoughts. Ed started walking to go meet up with Tex again.  Thinking about what had just happened with his friendly encounter, he was thinking about the night that he was about to have later with his buddy Tex. It was just going to be a normal night of “bro time.”

            What Ed didn’t know was what was to come of this friendship that was about to form between him and Elise.  This friendship was going to be a journey of growth. A journey that would have its ups and downs. What Elise didn’t know was that Ed was a guy that actually cared. Maybe caring more about people and her than people she had had in her past. She would test him in different ways but he was still consistent. She didn’t know how Ed would change her view on what a true friend was like. She would test him in different ways but he was still consistent. A friend who would stick by her no matter what and still love on her even when a valley seemed to grow deeper into the earth. A friend who was actually there for her and was authentic about it. This would be a friendship that was like no friendship they had ever experienced. Their faith would be tested. Their character would be tested. Their attitude would be tested.  They both were not perfect at all, but that is the beauty of growth. The journey seems so long, but the scenery is beautiful along the way. Even when it seems like there are points where they go off track and get lost, they still encounter a detour to lead them on track eventually. This isn’t romance. This is real love. This is the real love of a true friendship.