Just Picking Up the Pieces

Missy, an old friend of mine, just left. We went out for pizza, stopped to visit another old friend at work, and got ice cream tonight. It was nice to catch up since we hadn't really seen each other, or even communicated, for almost a year. We were best friends back in 8th and 9th grade. It's amazing how time changes things, but even more so how much people stay the same. Then again, it had only been a year since I saw her last, so it should be no suprise that she was still the same nice, spunky girl I remembered. But after my first year of college, my high school days seem so far away. I guess that's just the way things go. I was a different person back then. I know that. I mean, I didn't know where I was going, and... well, I still don't. Not exactly. But I know I have a calling, a purpose, a plan set by God Himself. I've been changing according to that plan. Right now I'm just trying to sort through the pieces of life that are laid before me.

Along the way I accumulated pieces from other people or from certain events in my life. I forced them together with other pieces even though they didn't match. They just barely fit, and as I moved on some of them eventually fell away from my life's puzzle. I will admit there are pieces I lost that I probablly should have hung on to, should have taken better care of. There are pieces I'm still looking for, some that I've lost, others that I have yet to discover. And there are pieces I never want to see again. I've burned the cheap cardboard they were made of.

The time I spent with Missy today was very laid back and refreshing. At the end of her visit, just before she left my house, I almost cried. I suddenly felt as if one of my missing pieces was found, only this time I fit it in a place closer to where it should be. I'm not sure when it had lost, but it certainly had been for some time. And it came back cleaned and refreshed with a new scent.

And there are the pieces that you are glad you lost. Maybe it's the equivallent to the bad influence of a person you knew. You still feel for them, maybe cry even knowing where they are in life, what a bad place they are in. You used to care about them and still do, and so it hurts to hear about the downward spiral they've gotten into. But there's nothing you can do except pray for them, or maybe offer them your support as only a friend can. Of course you can't give them everything they will need. Maybe just a place to stay, a hot meal, and send them off with some money, enough for a cab or the next meal. Okay, I'm getting off topic. I guess it was just good to see them both again...