Facebook success story

I’ve met a couple of people (including my wonderful husband) who just aren’t into Facebook. For a variety of reasons. Be it wanting to stay anonymous, wanting to let the past stay in the past and avoid awkward reunions with people you’d rather forget, or just to be a nonconformist. Despite some occasional irritations with Facebook, I’m rather glad I joined. And here’s why.

When I worked in England during my gap year, I met an array of people from different cultures and countries. When you’re so far away from anyone familiar, your survival depends largely on finding friends. I made many wonderful friends in my time in England. Most of which I have lost contact with.

In the past few years, I would often think back to the people I had met there. I sometimes even googled their names to see what the Internet would cough up, but without any success. There was one friend in particular that I would often think of.

She had worked with me at the tills. One day when I came to work, she was just there. I had prayed hard for a Christian friend (there weren't that many around where I worked), and here she was. She saw my WWJD bracelet, and we immediately hit it off. She was such a radiant, intelligent, humorous, deep person. Somehow it always felt as if we'd known each other for ages. There was no ridiculous small talk, it's like we would always get right to the good stuff.

Over the years, she slowly started slipping from my memory. With the event of Facebook, however, I thought back to those days in England. I searched for her, and there she was. What was even crazier than finding her after 6 years was the fact that she was coming to South Africa. To Durban to be exact.

In the days before the scheduled meeting I suddenly felt nervous. I had forgotten what she was like - what her voice sounded like, how she walked, how she responded to me, how I responded to her... What if we had changed? What if we didn't have anything to talk about?

Waiting at the beach I felt my heart pound as the minutes dragged on before her arrival. And then suddenly she was there. Sunny and radiant as ever. In a bright skirt and cheeky hat. And as we hugged it felt like everything was coming back. As if we never really spent that much time apart.

We spent time together until late that evening - shopping, chatting, eating, playing card games... I have been struggling lately with friends - ones that I've lost, and ones I never had. God gave me a great gift yesterday - in the shape of my friend from England. It's been ages since I felt so free to express myself, since I've laughed from the pit of my stomach, and could truly say that I was really genuinely sad to leave her again.

Thank you God for Facebook.