Because I Knew You

For Amber

There are people who enter our lives so quietly that we don’t even realize, at first, that everything is about to change. They don’t arrive with fanfare, and they don’t always stay forever, but somehow their presence shifts something deep inside us. Later, when we look back over the landscape of our life—through the valleys, the storms, the victories, and the ordinary days—we see their fingerprints everywhere, woven gently into who we’ve become.

I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason. That they bring something we must learn, something we didn’t even know we needed. And maybe that’s true. Maybe God orchestrates these seemingly chance encounters, nudging hearts toward one another at just the right moment. Maybe He sees the cracks in our strength long before we do and sends exactly the person who can breathe light into those fractured places.

Or maybe it’s simpler than that. Maybe some souls recognize each other in ways deeper than logic. Maybe some people carry a kind of love, kindness, or wisdom that shifts the direction of our story just by walking beside us for a while.

I don’t know which explanation is right. But I do know this:
I am who I am today because I knew you.

Your presence in my life was like a comet pulled from orbit by the pull of a sun—unexpected, bright, and unforgettable. You didn’t fix all my problems, and you weren’t meant to. But you helped me see myself differently. You showed me strength I didn’t know I had, reminded me of truths I had forgotten, and breathed life into moments when hope felt thin.

Some friendships are gentle, subtle streams—quiet but steady. And then, somewhere along the way, a boulder appears in the middle of the path, and everything shifts. The water changes direction. The landscape changes shape. Nothing is the same afterward.

That’s what knowing you has been like. Not dramatic or overwhelming, but transformative in a way that can be felt in the soul.

I can’t say with certainty whether I’ve been changed for the better, at least not in the simple, tidy sense. Life is complicated, and growth isn’t always pretty. Sometimes the people who impact us most do so by challenging us, stretching us, shining a mirror on the things we kept hidden. But I can say this with confidence—from a place deeper than emotion alone:

Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

That kind of change doesn’t fade. It stays like a handprint on the heart—imprinted, indelible, part of the very fabric of who we are now. There’s a quiet gratitude in that kind of mark. A knowing that no matter what else comes, no matter how life shifts or winds or surprises us, this connection helped shape the journey.

And maybe we won’t walk side by side forever. Maybe, as the years unfold in their unpredictable ways, our paths will separate or evolve. Maybe life will take us to different places, physically or emotionally. But the influence of a meaningful friendship doesn’t need proximity to remain powerful.

So let me say this, in the simplest and truest way I know how:

Your courage taught me courage.
Your kindness softened hard edges in me.
Your honesty challenged me to grow.
Your presence reminded me I wasn’t alone.
Your friendship? It rewrote chapters in my story I didn’t realize needed rewriting.

Wherever our stories go from here—however they shift, however they continue—you’re woven into mine. Your impact will not fade. Your voice will echo in the decisions I make, the compassion I offer, the strength I carry into each new dawn. You’ll be with me in the quiet moments, the joyful ones, and even the painful ones, because that’s what true connection does: it lingers.

You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart—one I never want to erase.

And if, in some corner of your own story, I helped shape even a small piece of who you are… if anything I said or did brought light to your darkness, hope to your struggle, or joy to your journey… then I am honored. Because friendship—real friendship—is a sacred exchange. We learn from each other. We lift each other. We become more because of each other.

So thank you… for being part of my life.
For shifting my orbit.
For touching my heart in ways I’ll carry forever.
For being a friend in the truest, quietest, most transformational sense of the word.

No matter where the story goes from here, I will always look back and say:

Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.