"Friends"

When we lived in Acuff Texas, a farming community ten miles east of Lubbock from 92-99, we made lots of friends and were blessed with some great memories.

Mike and Kara live 9 miles down the road from us. Mike was a farmer and his wife Kara helped. There were always great times to be had when you were with Mike and Kara. We laughed together, cried together and grew a strong friendship together.

Mike and Kara always grew a large garden full of wonderful vegetables. We would fry up okra, zucchini, yellow squash, and green tomatoes. Summers were always filled with fun and adventure.

One fall day they were forecasting an early freeze. Kara called and invited us to come and pick vegetables before the cold blew in. The kids and I drove over excited about the possibilities of another adventure. When we arrived Mike and Kara where getting ready to go to the garden.

We looked out the window and watched the wind whip around the trees as the dirt began to fill the air. It was beginning to feel cool so we bundled up to pick veggies. Someone had the grand idea of decorating our faces with Vaseline, so that when the

dirt blew it would adorn our faces in different designs. Some painted their faces to look like war paint. Others coated their faces heavily in no particular design. While the rest painted their faces more artistically. When the last bit of Vaseline was applied we headed out the door to face the elements. The wind by this time had a bite to it.

With each blast of dirt our faces became even more caked and the designs on our faces became more distinct. As we gathered the green tomatoes dirt became lodged in our teeth, clothes and crevices of our skin. Occasionally we would stop, stand up straight, point at each other and laugh. As we made our way down each row in the now cold blistering dirt filled wind, the work wasn’t like work at all, but more like a game.

When the last vegetable were picked, we gathered up our much treasured produce and headed to the house, continuing to point and laugh at one another. Once inside we began to peel off the layers of dirt filled clothes and look at the designs left on our faces. We took turns washing the dirt off as best we could and headed to the kitchen where we began to prepare a supper of vegetables. I believe this was the best supper I had ever eaten, or maybe it was just the right seasoning of fun that made the food taste so good.

Proverbs 17:17a “A friend loves at all times.”

Proverbs 18:24b “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.