I’ve come to find that in life there are a great many things to deeply cherish. Be it experiences, to people, to home cooked meals, to the sunshine on your back after a long day. The things we cherish refresh us and renew us. They are a necessary part of our survival as human beings. In my building on campus, there is a room for recycling on each floor, as well as a room for trash disposal. Both rooms are for things no longer cherished to be thrown away or be made into something new. I visit the trash room a few times a month to dispose of the garbage in my own room. It's funny though, I visit the recycling room far more often, for reasons other than reducing and reusing my glasses, plastics and old papers.

The first time I visited the recycling room for something other than recyclables was on a rough day. It was one of those days where I was sick to my stomach. If you’ve ever been sick while at college, I don’t care who you are, in some way shape or form, you’ve wish your mom was there. Alas, my mother wasn’t there, because part of the purpose of college is trying to adult on your own and make use the resources at your disposal. In addition to being physically sick, it was also one of those days where everything that could go wrong did. I’m talking like so bad that you spend a few hours on twitter and you can’t find a single post that isn’t relatable. Yes, that bad. I honestly think I made like 12 retweets that day. Anyways, my mom was gone and my phone wasn’t make the situation better. Something, or rather someone however, did make the situation better. My best friend here, came to my rescue. I came looking for her, in need of obvious help. All it took was one look at my face, and she knew what to do. God bless the recycling room on that floor that happened to be right behind us. We snuck into the room with the big blue bins with painted white arrows. In that room on the second floor, I cried, and I cried, and I cried. What did my friend do? She held me and listened and brushed the loose hair away from my face. I think that sometimes people in our lives are truly angels, and she is one of them. Thanks to Jesus, her, and the recycling room, I made it through the nights with nothing more than tear stained cheeks.

The second time I found myself in the recycling room was with the same lovely lady I referenced earlier in addition to another lovely lady whom also holds a place in my heart. This time it may not have been my turn to cry, but it was my turn to listen and to take care of others. After a few hours of debriefing everything on all of our hearts and minds, after each of our hearts reached out to hold one another’s, we held hands. Sitting in a circle, fingers entwined, we prayed. Kindof a funny thought, three girls sitting on the floor of a recycling room talking to God… But it was raw, and it was real and it was so, so good.

I think that instead of recycling aluminum, paper and plastic, I was able to reuse and share the love that my best friend extended to me the first time we utilized the recycling room. It may not have been the most glamorous of places to bond with each other, but for all three of us, it was exactly what we needed. I cherish those experiences. I cherish those people. I cherish that room. God bless all the wonderful experiences and people in my life, and God bless the recycling room.