Faithful friends

When my dad was in his early forties, he had a major heart attack that damaged much of his heart. He was lucky to survive the attack and he later needed a quadruple heart bypass. The surgeon took an artery from my father’s leg and inserted it in his heart, creating a new path for blood to flow around a blocked artery in his heart.

My mom was a rock throughout much of this period. She became the bread winner and worked to keep our family together. When I worried about what the future would hold, she hugged me and reassured me that everything was going to be alright.

However, I knew she was still worried, but she rarely let her guard down. I saw a glimpse of her emotions, though, a few weeks after the bypass. I was in high school and we were going somewhere. My dad was at home still recovering.

My mom and I stopped for gas. While I was pumping, a good friend of my mom’s pulled in next to us and the woman got out of her car and talked a little with my mom. Before running into the gas station, my mom’s friend gave her a big hug.

I missed a lot during that period of my life. I felt like my world had had been flipped on its head and I was full of worry and anger. My memory is hazy, but I remember watching my mom — who was usually pretty stoic around others and rarely showed how sensitive she was — melt in the woman’s arms. I thought for a second that my mom might fall over, but she got back into the car like nothing happened.

I never forgotten the woman’s hug and my mom’s reaction. It reminds me of the power of good friends in helping us through life’s challenges. I write more on the joy of friendship in my piece, Finding your people, on the Heart of the Matter.

What impact have your friends played in your life? What has it meant for you?

Related Story:

Finding your people

on The Heart of the Matter