Today we celebrate “friends.” How good it is to have people in your life you consider friends. If you are fortunate, you have a few people in your life that you could trust with anything. Who invest in your life with the kindness of their words and actions. Someone you could borrow money from because they would give you the shirt off their back. Someone who would sit with you during a hospital stay, or bring a meal to your home during a pregnancy or broken leg. Someone who will listen well if you take a problem to them, and then offer you advice, support, and encouragement as needed. Someone who makes time for you in their busy life…sometimes with just a moments notice. Someone whose smile, hug, nod of their head or squeeze of your hand can speak a thousand words of affirmation about what you share. Someone who can sit quietly with you, laugh at the same jokes, or go on an adventure with you.
We sometimes call our customers “friends” on facebook. We don’t mean to be careless with the word. Truth is, we do care about our customers, and serving you is more than business. It’s personal. Now we can’t do a lot of the things that traditional friends do, and most of you we will only see for minutes at a time here and there. But the best part of our day is when you have time to share your story, both the joys and the heartaches. Sometimes we just listen. Sometimes we might help you find a book or gift that is an encouragement to you or someone you are shopping for, give you directions to a good eating place, or say a prayer over you if you need one.
The mug in this picture just came into our store, and prompted these words today. The backside you can’t see adds the words…”and the joy you have brought to my life!” We hope you all are blessed with deep and lasting friendships, and that as often as you like, you find that we can be your friend in our own very small way.
Michael Beagan