I am inspired this week to pull another column from the greatest hits file. This is another column I wrote about my late grandmother Jacquita Lewter. This column last published in the July 1, 2023 edition of the News-Record.
We just celebrated another Fourth of July without her. Not having her for the holidays hearkens back to the words of an old Willie Nelson song:
“And I still can’t believe you’re gone. But you’re gone. And I’m alone. And I’m still livin’. I don’t like it. But I’ll take it till I’m strong. All I can hear myself singin’ is, I still can’t believe you’re gone.”
Alas, we can’t dwell on the loss. I rejoice in her influence and celebrate her memory. By now, you’ve been reading about my grandmother and probably have a good idea of just how much she influenced me. She was my best friend, my confidant and my co-worker.
She taught me so much for so long, but our relationship came full circle, in the workplace, when I was eventually able to start teaching her a few things.
She was just as gracious a student as she was a teacher. We taught each other more about life than we ever did newspapering.
We could tell each other anything. This is the sign of a true friend.
“Now, if you tell anyone I said this, I’ll call you a liar,” she’d say.
I’d laugh, but she was serious. When she threatened this, I knew what she was about to say required total confidentiality.
True friends can confide in one another and not think twice.
The confidence of a friend should not be infringed.
This is what Granny taught me — trust.
Life is best spent with people we can trust and in whom we can confide.
Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
This is the type of friendship we had. It is the type of friendship we are all best served to strive for. Don’t surround yourself with those you cannot trust. It is counterproductive.
We are only on this planet a brief time. As such, it behooves us to maximize the time we have. Life is too short.
Relationships are precious and cannot thrive without trust. Trust is a two-way street.