I sometimes think I don’t deserve the friends I have. Y’all are way too nice to be hanging around riffraff like me. A month or so ago, after Rhonda had met a few members of my extended tribe, she remarked –totally out of the blue– “You have the nicest friends!”

I usually meet the nicest ones through work, where they can’t run and have no choice but to hang out with me. Does that explain it?

I thought so.

Or, I give them money for providing me with a service, so it’s like I’m paying them to be my friend. I’ll name no names, but I bet you’re smiling 🙂 Or, you might just be family and clearly, you have no choice.

So the girl I write about today falls into one of these categories. I’m protecting the innocent by not naming any names. She’s fairly introverted, but she talks to me. We have a similar set of bad nerves and it is therapeutic to share notes. She’s just a small town girl living in what passes for a big city to her. I know it must be hard adapting, moving away from everything you’ve ever known. It’d be like packing me up and moving me down to Atlanta or something. I’d be shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm! Fortunately, she has a winsome smile and a gentle way of just being present. I can hear her now as I regale her with my latest woes: “Oh, Amy….” She’s one of those people you feel better just by having near. Like, you can face whatever is thrown at you as long as she’s standing beside you. She doesn’t even have to say a word.

So it is my pleasure to pray for her today. Her request was, of course, for her family.

Lord, I want to thank you first for this beautiful and perfect East Tennessee day you created for us. It was absolutely wonderful. I felt like stretching out on the grass in the sun like a big ol fat groundhog and soaking it all in. It was a grand thing to be alive and present here today. Thank you for this day. Thank you for loving us, and letting us love you in our flawed way.

I often question what good can come from bad decisions. Is it to show us what we don’t want after all? Do we always have to find out for ourselves? I pray that you would open a young girl’s mind and heart and have her listen to you and her mother. She’s surrounded by temptation and cannot understand the repercussions of a poor decision. It’s difficult when you’re young and everybody you see is falling into a wasteland of ill-fated life. It looks so tempting because it’s fun! It isn’t hard work like everything else. And nothing truly terrible has presented itself yet. But it’s working like termites beneath the surface of that porcelain skin, ruining the foundation and eating the wholesome parts. Please surround this young lady with a solid group of role models she can look up to and talk to about the things she needs to be aware of. Make her understand the only way to succeed in life is to rise above and work hard. Boys and men can have their place later, but now it’s important to keep your head in your studies and make a way for your future. Drugs are never permissible; they cloud your judgment and lead you down into a hole of overall destruction that is nearly impossible to overcome. Have your fun while you’re young, but keep your eyes on the long term goal. Don’t mess up now and spend the next twenty years regretting all the things you could have done. I also pray for this girl’s brother. I fear she watches him being reckless and sees that he can get away with it, why shouldn’t she? I pray that he wakes up and takes stock of his life. It is my fervent desire that he make some new friends that don’t pressure him to drink to have a good time. Real friends don’t let you drive wasted. Real friends make an effort to see you and have fun without excessive amounts of alcohol. I pray he finds a lucrative career that won’t ruin his strong back. I know he has a musician’s soul- would you use him as a tool, Lord, playing for you and spreading your message? There are some songs on his heart, no doubt. Give him the courage to leave this life that he’s become so passively a part of to pick up new thoughts and organize his time into something to be proud of. He has a gift, let’s see to it that he uses it for good. I pray for him and his sister both, to get back in your house. To remember how they were raised and why they’re so fortunate to have the life they have with a family that loves them and a warm home with plenty of food in the fridge. They gotta get right, Lord. They’re straying.

I also want to say a prayer for her parents, Lord. They struggle more with each passing day. They’re proud, too, too proud to leave their mountain home. She worries day and night for them. Every breath is a battle, every step is an effort. She frets after she visits, careful to listen to the doctor’s instructions. Life is fragile at that age. May they all have peace. I’m not sure how to pray for them, but I don’t want anyone suffering from heartache or bodily pains, either one. I wish to remove the guilt she undoubtedly feels for not being closer, for not being able to do more. I pray for her sister, as well. This is how prayer works, I know. You pray for one person and it makes you think of another and another and another. I know a little about her sister, how she has her own set of problems and nothing comes easy. I just want peace for them all. I pray for her husband, who travels the interstate system all day, every day. It’s just a dangerous world. They have what appears to be a good, strong marriage, and I ask for a hedge of protection around them and their bond to grow even stronger. I long for them to look toward you and each other for guidance and support. Let them join forces in witnessing to their children and serving as an example of a life well lived and abundantly blessed. With a thankful heart, I ask you to bless them more. I thank you for letting me know them. I thank you for her pure heart and sweet demeanor that bestows kindness to everyone in her orbit. May we all love as simply as you love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We’ve all got worries. Any time you love someone you run the risk of losing sleep over them. I don’t know how you parents do it. I’m a coward, that’s why I never birthed no babies.

My dear sweet friend told me to pick my own sacrifice. Since I’m already trying not to cuss {WOW I CUSSED A LOT!! I WAS NO LADY}

So I chose vanity. Hard to believe I’m vain, you say? Well, I AM. I guess there are worse things. But I need to do better. So the first thing I started with were my mirrors. I covered the main two up last night and just shut the door to the other bathroom to remind me not to go in there.

No mirrors means no makeup. Oh, sure, I could have probably managed a dab of mascara and some powder and lipstick, but what was the point? I’m just a mule in horse harness, anyway. (Sorry I’m especially heavy on Gone With the Wind tonight) And, as an added unexpected extra, I decided not to weigh. I weigh every morning and then I groan and roll my eyes and promise to starve myself one day soon. Why do I do it to myself? Because I’m vain, that’s why.

But I did wear jewelry. I have to have a touch of pizzazz. But I opted for one of my understated navy blue striped shirts and old comfortable Levis. Low profile clothes for my newly adopted-for-a-day attitude. As for my hair, well, it probably looked the same as always, I don’t give it the attention it requires any day of the week.

Rick fixed up the bathroom mirror at work for me so I wouldn’t have to close my eyes while I washed my hands. My 8×10 sheet didn’t quite cut the mustard.

It’s a good thing I didn’t have an eyelash incident today. I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t suppose it was that big of a sacrifice, since on average I might see five people a day, but I still did it. I only caught sight of my reflection twice, once in the glass on the door, and once in Maggie’s glossy paint. But I tried not to look. I focused on looking inward, and to the Heavens, and concentrating on what I was supposed to be thinking about instead of what I looked like. I should only be concerned with what my soul looks like. I hope I project a decent one. But I know it can use some work. Dolly’s got it down pat, maybe I should aspire to be more like her.

Till tomorrow,

Love from Appalachia,

Amy xoxo