Make New Friends but Keep the Old... la la

The song is true. Make new friends and keep the old. No need to get rid of completely fun friendships.

Tonight I had dinner at Jessica and Lee's house in Fort Myers. I met Jessica in the summer of 1987, or '88? I can't remember exactly when, but it was definitely something like 20 years ago. While our friendship has suffered in the distance between CT and FL, and the growing angst of two girls who couldn't always get along during a 2 week visit...we have sustained all injuries and are still friends...its amazing. Last year I went to her wedding and I sat there then, I was amazed that this friend I made when we were just little girls was now wearing white and exchanging vows. I was thankful and humbled by God's grace in our lives and how friendship that is true never fades...even if there are times of life that we aren't close. 

It is no wonder then that we always come back to people who know us, and people that love us. We laughed about random memories of Pop Rocks, misc. stupid fights we had--and could enjoy that we've grown up but still had the childlike enthusiasm we did in our youth. She is preparing to relocate for her husbands job to the Atlanta area, and I could not be more excited--a car ride away! 

This night got me to thinking about who I will sit with in the future that I will be able to say "I met you 20 years ago"...who in my life right now will I know when I am in my 40's? In what capacity will these friends be? Will they play Aunts and Uncles to my children? Will we have been in each others weddings, or live near each other? I know that friendships in Christ there are no goodbyes, and I feel that message really resonate with me this week while in Florida. Having lunch with Sanne and Katie in St. Augustine and now dinner with Jessica I am reminded that rooting our lives in Christ means also rooting our relationships- and those endure circumstances, distances, hurtful words, and life just being busy. I am thankful for those relationships, and I try not to take them for granted despite my overly committed schedule.  

So to friends. The new, the old, the sisters, the brothers, the mentors, the late night ones you can call to talk about nothing, the friends you can't live with out, the friends you see once a year and pick right up from where you left off, the friends that encourage you to be better than the current version, and the friends that carry you through all that life brings... 

I am thankful for them all, and tonight especially for friends that make it through distance, time, and growth like Jessica.