Peculiar treasures

Sometimes there are people who enter into your life and impact it in ways you didn't think possible.

And you never want to lose those people.

They are peculiar treasures.

And it seems like they usually quite literally come out of nowhere. A few years ago, I was still learning what it meant to be an adult and live on my own (actually, I think that's more of an ongoing process), and I had recently started running more and was becoming more familiar with some of the faces in the running community. Then, at a random sand volleyball party one afternoon, one of the guys I didn't know well but had seen at a couple of races began chatting with me and said I should come join some of his friends and him sometime for a run in Dallas. It wasn't an official group, he said, but just some people who love to run. I was intimidated, because I knew who most of his training buddies were, and I was quite aware that they were all fast. Really fast. But, for some weird reason, I thought I would try it out.

And my life changed forever.

I will never forget my first experience with these people. It was a warm and humid morning, and we were doing a run on the Katy Trail. Now, I had met a few of them before, but I definitely didn't know them well, and they didn't know much about me.

But they learned something pretty quickly.

As soon as we got on the trail, a hopper (the green amphibian spawn of Satan) went across our path. I had somewhat of a panic attack. I am afraid of one thing in life, and it happens to be this demonic creature. I hadn't planned on letting my new friends know about this the first time I spent time with them, but I guess life happens sometimes. There were multiple other hoppers out this morning, and my fellow redhead, Jen, mentioned that she usually never sees them on the Katy.

I've always known those things are out to get me.

Rather than treating me like a psycho girl with a strange fear (I don't think it's weird, but most people I know do), these people started warning me each time they saw a hopper, and Jen even offered to be my "hopper protector." All I kept thinking was, "Who are these people, and why are they being so nice to me?" I couldn't figure it out.

But now I know—they are peculiar treasures.

And now, three years later, these are some of my best friends—people who have been there with me through some of the best and some of the hardest miles (both literal and figurative) of life.

It's these kinds of people who make everything in life better.

I can't say I was thrilled about going to the parade in Dallas on Saturday—I am not a huge fan of parades, and I really don't like being caught in massive crowds of people. But the people with me that day made me almost completely forget that there were thousands of others around us, because we were having such a good time in our own little world. I remember looking at them as they were catching various things being thrown in the parade but then sharing them with one another (like when Laz gave Kristi a silver necklace, because she had been waiting for that color), and I thought to myself, "They're all peculiar treasures."

And it's true.

Peculiar treasures are in our lives in many ways: they're the friends from your childhood you may not see as often as you'd like, but you pick up like no time has been lost each time you spend time with them; it's that friend who moved away, applied for some covert job, put you as a reference, ensuring some secret service agent would come conduct the most intense and awkward interview you've ever had; it's that roommate who took you to the hospital late one night when your pancreas attacked itself and stayed with you until the morning hours when your mom arrived, even though she had an early class that next day; it's that person who always remembers to get you a rock on every trip, because it's a known fact you collect them; it's that group of friends who wake up extra early on a Sunday morning to come cheer you on at a race before they go to church; it's the ones who make you look forward to every single Thursday, which used to be such an insignificant day of the week; it's those people who know every quirky thing about you and love you just the same.

We are peculiar treasures to God, and He's placed people in our lives who are true blessings. Yes, some of them may be quite peculiar, indeed, but they are the ones who show us what authentic friendship and love really are.

And, just like with any treasure, you should never let them go.