Julia-Ann is another wonderful friend I met as a result of working in a library. True, I wasn't working at the main branch of the Dothan library when she started working there. But as I continued to be a library-frequenter even after I'd taken a different job (in a different library), I got to meet Julia-Ann and get to know her.
And she really is a sweet, sweet person. And a wonderful friend.
One time, while I was living in Tuscaloosa, I couldn't reach my dad by phone. At the time, he only had a land-line and didn't have an answering machine. But he was always home in the evenings, so I found it quite strange that he didn't answer his phone for several nights in a row. And, worrier that I am, I started to become concerned. I was 4 hours away, so I couldn't very well just drive over to his house and make sure all was well.
But my friend Julia-Ann could... And she did. I called her up and told her the situation. She drove over on her lunch break the next day. She told me nobody answered the door, but all looked okay. It's possibly my dad went to the library shortly thereafter, and Julia-Ann told him I was concerned about him. I don't remember all the details. I just know my dad found out I sent someone to his house looking for him. Turned out he'd started a job and was at work every time I'd tried to call. All's well that ends well. But how grateful I was that I had someone who was willing to do that for me. And because he knew her from the library, he probably wouldn't be suspicious of someone looking around his house if he had been there. Haha...
And then there was graduate school. Julia-Ann had started the library program at the University of Alabama before I did. One semester, while I was already living in Tuscaloosa, she was taking a weekend class. I invited Julia-Ann to come stay at my place on the weekends when she had class. I remember it was a treat for me to have company from home. And, quite frankly, company period. Because those were my early days in Tuscaloosa, and I still didn't have many friends, so I was lonely. I looked forward to making a meal for two instead of just one. I enjoyed sitting up and visiting for a few hours on those Friday nights.
And then Julia-Ann blessed my life hugely. She let me borrow all of the textbooks for the classes I would be taking. I bought only one book my entire graduate school career. And at a time when I was living very tightly so as not to take out any student loans or go into any additional debt... but to pay for my schooling as I went... Well, that was a sweet blessing, a tender mercy. A wonderful gift from a dear friend. And I will always know that Heavenly Father helped out with all of that.
I'm grateful that Julia-Ann still makes time for me when I'm in Alabama. Though life has taken her away from Dothan, on both of my return trips since then, she's always been willing to meet up with me (or us) for breakfast or lunch while we were passing through the city where she now lives. And I always consider that a great kindness. Because I always love the opportunity to see my wonderful friends, especially when those opportunities don't come along often.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I've been richly blessed in my life with amazing and wonderful friends. And Julia-Ann is certainly among them.
What are you grateful for today?
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