Long-Term Friends

We met again because one of my book signings happened to be close to where both of them live. The last time all three of us were together, my son was in the first grade. Twenty-some years have passed, quickly and unbelievably.

Yet there they were, supporting me at a book signing and smiling for pictures that erased the wrinkles and the years of crises, job changes, multiple moves.

At lunch, we shared pictures and stories, chatting as if we had seen each other just 20 minutes ago rather than 20 years. Each of us has changed in our own ways, seasoned by life, yet still believing in the foundations that brought us together:

• Faith in the grace-giving joy of Jesus
• A sisterhood carved from a shared piece of history – the years we all lived in the same town
• Seasons of prayer for each other and for our families

Although we are more mature, we remember the young women we were and the lessons we learned. Now, we understand more about our mothers and grandmothers – how they survived the years with grace and ended up surrounded by halos of wisdom.

We bring that grace to each other, accepting our differences and celebrating our sameness.

We have decided not to let 20 years separate us again. In the spring of 2013, we’re planning a weekend retreat where we’ll eat well, laugh and enjoy being together.

And now, in this season of gratitude, I am so thankful for these long-term friends who have not only remembered me – but also support the passion I call writing.

As I think of them, I pray the traditional Gaelic blessing:

“May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,
May God hold you ever in the palm of His hand.”

© 2012 RJ Thesman