There are many people in my life that have molded me and shaped me along the way.  I would not be who I am without their influence, advice, help and friendship.  One of these people, however, deserves a medal.  She went above and beyond the call of duty over and over again even when I did not return the favor.

My first memory of Dee was when I was eight or nine.  She babysat my brothers and me while my parents were at work one summer.  I don’t remember being particularly difficult, but I remember not wanting to eat my tuna sandwich because she put celery in it instead of pickles. [Insert eye roll here.]  A few years later she became the youth assistant at the church that was attached to the school we attended.  I would bug her every day after school with my friend, Liz.  Some days it was way more than bugging.  I don’t remember how it happened or why but one day we ended moving a couch in front of the men’s bathroom door with Dee locked inside.  We were little monsters, but we would not have wasted our childish pranks on anyone, only the people we loved.  Another time we made her cry because of something she was wearing.  I should post a picture of my middle school and high school fashions.  I had no room to be making fun of anyone!

Time and time again, Dee would take opportunities to invest in our lives.  She was constantly writing us notes or showing up to our school events.  She would drive us to the mall and listen to our high school woes.  She set a high bar for the girls in her small group.  She wanted us to be strong women of faith and would pray for us often.

When my dad was in rehab and diagnosed bi-polar, Dee was one of the first people to reach out.  She wanted to know how to help.  She wanted me to know that she was praying for me and that even though life was really hard that God had a plan for me.

I don’t know where I would be if Dee had not invested in a punk little kid like me.  Thankful she stuck with me.  I got to sing in her wedding and because I stayed close to home for college she continued to disciple me through my college years.  She had me stay at her home, she gave me a job, she listened to me talk endlessly about boys, she gave me advice about starting a ministry and she modeled for me what a Proverbs 31 woman looks like in the modern world.

Years later I was working at a church and asked her to come speak about friendship to high school girls.  She talked about how God has made us for relationship with each other and how we can support one another.  It was so special to have her there over a decade after I had left the high school ministry where we spent so much time together.

There were so many others that poured into my life during that time, but none endured as much as Dee.  She truly deserves a medal for loving kids like Jesus loved them.  I am truly blessed to be her friend.