The first time I met her, we were at a (boring) admin meeting at BSF. She was sitting next to me but I had no idea who she was. Me being me, I made a joke and no one laughed. Except Serene. You have to understand that BSF people are so serious and sincere. I often say things just to rock the boat or to add humour, but sometimes that can go over like a lead balloon. That day, the joke was not well-received and I groaned (inside). The meeting continued and from some other comments, I gleaned that Serene was not as serious as the others. I also figured out that she thought for herself rather than simply agreeing with everything. This is not necessarily a good thing at BSF, but it's definitely a positive in my world.
The next week, after the leader's meeting, I went up to Serene, put my arm around her and said, I think we need to be friends. If you know me at all, this is COMPLETELY out of character. It's usually kids not adults that go up to each other and ask to be friends. But, I felt like I needed to do it. There are 68 leaders at the Monday meetings and I feel like most of them don't get me at all. I really like a lot of the ladies, but the friendships are quite superficial; they don't actually KNOW me. To find someone who thinks critically and has a sense of humour and doesn't worship at the altar of BSF is unusual. To find someone who also understands me and my dark, sarcastic comments is even more unusual.
I saw Serene on Mondays and some Tuesdays when the recording of the lecture was still being fine tuned. I got to know her: in person and through text. I discovered her wicked sense of humour. She made me laugh. A lot. I didn't have to censor myself around her; I told her exactly what I thought. Even when I didn't tell her what I thought, she would ask, "oh what were your thoughts? Dark ones?" I couldn't stop laughing; only someone who knows me well would think to ask that.
And so despite the fact that I have only known her for a little over six weeks, I feel like I have always known Serene. Friends forever is such a cliche, but I can't imagine my life without her. We have gone for coffee and lunch and texted a lot. We seem to always have so much to talk about. I have hugged her more than any other friend possibly ever. I know we are similar in a lot of ways, and yet I can't quite explain this strong connection. But, I am sure that God put her in my life and perhaps that's all I need to know. At the end of the day, even if I make a list of all the reasons that I love Serene, does it fully explain why we're friends? We just are and will be forever, and that's a beautiful thing. I am so grateful.
