The Kind of Friend Who Feels Like Home
This post is dedicated to my dear friend and agriculture sister, Margie Raimondo.
I met Margie this past April at the American Farm Bureau Women’s Communications Boot Camp in Washington, D.C. The four-day program brought together 12 women from across the country for hands-on training in public speaking, working with the media, developing messages and becoming stronger advocates for agriculture.
Margie was one of two women representing Arkansas, and I was honored to represent Florida. Somehow, among all that training, we also found something neither of us could have planned: friendship.
When I walked into the hotel lobby, I did not know what any of the other women looked like. I only knew I was supposed to find a group of strangers who would soon become my Boot Camp sisters.
Margie was one of the first people to open her smile to me.
Before the introductions, training sessions or speeches ever began, she made me feel welcome. That is simply who Margie is.
When it was her turn to speak, her message was powerful. You could hear the love in her voice as she talked about agriculture, feeding people and what access to fresh food could mean for a community facing the challenges of a food desert.
Margie is a farmer, chef, author and the heart behind Urbana Farmstead in Little Rock, Arkansas. Through her urban farm, market and kitchen, she teaches others where food comes from, how to prepare it and how agriculture can nourish both bodies and communities.
But one of the things I remember most about Margie is something that cannot be listed on a résumé.
That woman gives a good hug.
Her hugs felt familiar from the very beginning. I do not know if she reminded me of one of my favorite church grannies or if God simply knew I needed that kind of comfort, but her hugs felt like home.
Of course, no meaningful friendship is complete without at least one story that becomes funnier after everyone survives it.
One evening, our group decided to walk to a restaurant. It turned out to be quite a trek, and knowing Margie had been dealing with knee trouble, I asked if she wanted to grab an Uber with me.
She said yes.
That seemed like a perfectly safe and responsible plan until our Uber driver started moving the car while half of Margie was still standing on the curb!
I grabbed her and pulled her into that car with a quickness I did not know I possessed, all while yelling at the driver to stop. He apologized, but by that point my heart was pounding and my nerves were shot.
Once I finally had Margie safely inside the car, I thought, “The Lord must not be finished with you yet. He needs you to stay right here with us a little longer.”
The craziest part was that after I pulled her into the car, she was the one who had to calm me down.
That is Margie. Even when she is the one who nearly gets carried down the street by an Uber, she is still taking care of everybody else.
Margie also carries a deeply personal story about how September 11, 2001, changed the direction of her life and helped shape the woman she is today. Listening to her share that part of her journey helped me understand even more about her strength, compassion and determination to use food and agriculture to serve others.
Some people walk through life-changing experiences and allow them to harden their hearts. Margie allowed hers to deepen her purpose.
I recently learned that my sweet friend is now battling Hairy Cell Leukemia, also known as HCL, and has begun treatment.
Margie, you have spent so much of your life feeding people, teaching people, encouraging people and making others feel welcome. Now it is our turn to surround you.
I am asking my friends, family, agriculture community and prayer warriors to join me in praying for Margie. Please pray for her treatments to work exactly as they should, for her medical team to have wisdom, for her body to be strengthened and for peace to cover her and everyone who loves her.
Most of all, pray that Margie feels the same love and comfort she has so freely given to others.
“‘Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.’”
Jeremiah 17:14
Margie, my agriculture sister, I am praying for healing, strength and many more years of your work, your stories, your smile and those hugs that feel like home.
And when we see each other again, we are walking nowhere near a moving Uber.
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