Catching Up

Yesterday we met with long time friends at a restaurant off of the Interstate.  They were on their way back home after a short trip to visit family, and to give us more time to catch up we met them about 20 minutes from our home.  It had been a few years and even though we knew our friend Allen was having many health challenges now, we were still surprised. He is just shy of turning 90, a retired Methodist pastor from the deep south who was sent first to Iowa and then to Minnesota to serve congregations.  In the Methodist church you are assigned congregations. 

Joel met Allen when we were living in Zimmerman Mn in the mid 80's and they soon became friends.  When he married Susan, Joel was his best man.  They have now been married 30 years, she being several years younger.  They adopted children to add to his older grown sons, and with our adopted children we had yet another connection.  Allen is a gentle man with compassion that runs deep.  When our lives were threatened by a man who wanted to end Joel's life, one who did not like our multi-racial family, Allen was there for us.  The man who threatened Joel had a restraining order so could not come within a certain number of yards of us.......so he started going to Allen's church.  We found irony in that, since he was such a prejudice man and Allen is African American.  I think God wanted to teach that broken, hateful man a few things!

Seeing Allen and Susan again has had me thinking about old friendships.   We have a few long time friends that we have stayed connected to for many many years, mostly from a distance.  Our hearts are warmed when thinking about John S and others from our time at the Lutheran Bible Institute, Marge and Dick from our time in Utah, Montana friends from the early 80's, Marilyn from Mn, Dan and Barb from seminary days, Jim and Linda from my high school days, George and Helen from the Philippines.  And many more.  It is one of the reasons I love Christmas~ cards and letters, pictures and packages fill the mailbox and we get to hear how they are doing. 

We are all aging.  Life has been kinder to some than others.  Some have spent their lives in one place while others have moved around the country, the world.  Everyone of us has a different story to share, but what unites us all is our faith.  We all are believers in Jesus as Savior. I like that. 

We are so grateful for our visit with Allen and Susan.  So grateful for long time friends.  So grateful for a faith that unites and a love that sustains.  As the Christmas season begins, our trips to the mailbox hold more anticipation.  Connections with family and long time friends.  A time for catching up!