One of the goals my dear sweet wife and I set for ourselves this summer was to reconnect with some old friends with whom we had lost touch. These were people who came into our lives at just the right time - when we needed a friend, people who provided support and encouragement, people who truly enriched our lives. We felt somewhat ashamed that we had lost contact with them so it was our aim to reconnect with those who were/are dear to us.
Randy and Ellen were members of the first congregation I served in Missouri. Randy was our head elder; Ellen turned out to be our best ambassador. Their service enriched our church. Randy could be counted on to provide wise counsel. Ellen was a winsome witness of the Lord's goodness and mercy. The lived about a half-dozen houses away from ours so we saw lots of each other. When I took a call to a church in South Carolina our contact was mostly through Facebook and Christmas cards. But after awhile we just didn't reach out to each other.
But we got them to come and visit our summer home. What a joyful reunion! We spent much time catching up, shared some of the good and not so good times our families had experienced, ate some good food and went to a tribute concert (the Dolly Parton character was spot on!). When Randy and Ellen departed we vowed to stay in touch and promised to meet again next summer.
Then there was Bill and Raydine. When I moved our family to Missouri for an opportunity for radio station ownership the first thing we did was seek out a church. It was there we met Bill. He was the president of the local bank. He introduced us to Raydine and discovered that they had a son that was two days older than our son. During the five years we were in close contact we spent numerous nights watching our boys play basketball. We also went on a medical mission trip together. The two of them were such a blessing to us. But then we moved and they moved and we drifted apart.
Sherri discovered that Bill and Raydine were traveling to a family camp that would take them through our community. We got them to visit and they spent the night with us. Again, as we did with Randy and Ellen, we vowed to stay in touch. So a week later when our doorbell rang Bill and Raydine were there. Bill joked, "We liked it here so much we thought we stay a few more days!" Actually, they brought us a gift and invited us to visit them in their home. We just might do that. But in the meantime we promised each other that we would stay in contact.
Then there was Callie. We met her at a camp for at risk children. She melted our hearts with her lovely smile and sweet personality. When the camp ended we were able to stay in touch with her. We took her to dinner (she never finished a single meal!) and movies she wanted to see. She participated in theatre and dance at her school and we were overjoyed to see her excel. Eventually she was reunited with her grandparents and our time spent with her became less and less until we lost contact with her.
But this summer we discovered that she lived only a couple of hours from where we are. We met half-way for lunch and enjoyed learning what life was like for her. We also met her three children - so cute! Again, we promised that we would meet again next summer and exchanged phone numbers so we could text or call.
A number of verses in Proverbs talk about the importance of friendship. We recognize that one of the Lord's great gifts to us are the people He brings into our lives. Friends who provide love, companionship, help, counsel and fun. Have you lost contact with someone with whom you shared a joyous relationship? We learned that its never too late to reconnect with old friends. You might consider doing the same.
