“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it.”

Seven years ago, I came across a meme with this quote and it reminded me immediately of my friend Rachel. In just a couple short months, we had become inseparable as we navigated our new lives as single mamas together.

When I posted the meme to Instagram, she commented: “I was just going to tag you in this and then you posted; LOL.”

“Say what?” I replied. “Same wavelength!”

I have always been shy when it came to making new friends — but from the beginning, Rachel and I just seemed to click. We had some uncanny things in common, including a childhood love of “Anne of Green Gables.”

In the book series, Anne was an orphan who was bullied for her red hair and often in trouble due to her quick temper. Despite a myriad of difficult life circumstances, Anne always kept her hope alive – and ultimately, her unwavering optimistic spirit changed the hearts of everyone who crossed her path.

Growing up, Anne longed for a best friend:

“A bosum friend – an intimate friend, you know — a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my innermost soul,” Anne said. “I’ve dreamt of meeting her my whole life.”

Before I met Rachel, I knew her as my college student’s beautiful older sister, the glamorous Owl Magazine cover model. I was intimidated to meet her in person.

But she welcomed me with open arms and a warm smile on her face. In the months to follow, she became a constant source of support during the darkest time of my life.

At a time when all I wanted to do was retreat, she inspired me to fight. She taught me to be present and not stuck in the past — to embrace my new life, and to make the best of it.

She taught me to have hope and to have faith, to find joy in even the worst of times — and to always, always keep a sense of humor, even as my world was falling apart.

She was a light through the darkness.

Anne of Green Gables once said:

“There’s such a lot of different Annes in me.  If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn’t be half so interesting.”

Like Anne, Rachel was many things to many people:

A woman of God.

A loving mother of five.

A sister, a best friend, a wife, a girlfriend, a sister-in-law, a dancing partner, a gym buddy.

A soul sister.

(That was the Rachel I knew.)

Rachel was authentically herself, a free spirit who loved and lived life — on her own terms.

The Rachel I knew was a lover and a fighter. She led from the heart in her constant pursuit of more for her children and more for herself.

The Rachel I knew was a family girl who considered her little brothers her best friends and was so proud of her siblings’ accomplishments.

The Rachel I knew was a mama bear who wanted the world for her kids, and repeatedly emphasized with them the value of a college education.

The Rachel I knew loved fitness, dancing, being around people, and traveling to new places.

The Rachel I knew was brilliant and clever and the first to laugh at herself.

The Rachel I knew was self-made. In fact, Rachel was the most ambitious woman I’ve ever known.

Rachel founded her own cleaning company and she was terrific at her work. (I know because she cleaned my house!) She called it East Coast Cleaners because her plan was to provide service to the entire East Coast.

But that was the only the start for the Rachel I knew.

The Rachel I knew never stopped dreaming.

She had always planned on furthering her education, eventually pursuing her Master’s Degree. Earlier this year, we messaged back and forth about her plans to enroll at Harford Community College this fall as a double major.

The Rachel I knew dreamt of writing several books, telling me often that she was the writer of the family.

When she shared with me a story she was working on for Owl Magazine, I was blown away by her storytelling ability. I always felt it was just a matter of time before her books would be best sellers.

If Rachel’s talent for writing was more hidden, her gift of outreach made an impact on many.

The Rachel I knew was a believer in second chances and lived her faith – epitomizing the Christian spirit of forgiveness and tolerance.

The Rachel I knew always said it wasn’t her place to judge. In an age characterized by its divisiveness, perhaps this aspect of Rachel is one I cherish the most.

Galatians tells us a man reaps what he sows …

The Rachel I knew planted seeds of love in the hearts of so many.

Her loss will never leave me, but neither will her love.

In the words of Anne of Green Gables, “True friends are always together in spirit.”

#RememberingRachelMorin