Friends

We said good-bye yesterday to a long-time friend. He stayed with us for a long weekend, hoping to escape the hurricanes of Florida for a time. His mother no longer lives here in Minnesota and he no longer owns property here, so his visits have become less frequent. I guess that makes them more special, and the special-ness was stretched out for a longer period than usual this time. In addition to that, he actually dropped his bags and crashed with us for the duration of his Twin Cities tour. The weekend get-together focused on primarily three things: (1) church (usually not his thing) and our weekly small group (he felt remarkably at home); (2) long heated discussions of politics, theology, philosophy, and other matters with similar endings; and (3) food (he generously treated us to places we frequent only rarely.)

The weekend was very full and very rewarding. It’s truly a blessing to have friends, who although they disappear for months or years at a time, step back into our lives as if we suspended our conversation just yesterday.

We’re already missing John and hope he returns soon. We’ll leave the light on for him.