Friendship

Last night Lonnie and I had the pleasure of traveling to Fort Worth to the wedding of some dear friend's son, Karson. When Lonnie and I were first married, Kelijohn and Jerry where like our "marriage mentors". We loved them desperately and adored their son, so being present for the start of his new life was just something we wanted to be part of. I had contacted other friends, Jim and Cindy and asked them to meet us for dinner beforehand and was so excited to see them. It had been at least 5 years since we had seen then face to face and it was just amazing to put my arms around Cindy and hug her. Just felt so comfortable. After dinner we all headed to the wedding. As we were driving through Fort Worth, it hit me. Not only would Keli and Jerry be there and Jim and Cindy but many other friends from Stephenville that we had not seen in years. I began to think back to the years we lived there and how much joy we felt there. It was heartwarming. Soon after entering the chapel, familiar faces started to appear and smiles and hugs just came one after the other. We spent the entire reception making our rounds and seeing wonderful friends that we had not seen in years. It was completely rejuvenating to my soul to see them all. We literally did not want to leave the chapel after the wedding. It was a completely euphoric feeling. We did leave and just smiled all the way to the hotel. As we were getting ready for bed we were talking about everyone and how exciting it was and that we realized how much we had truly missed them. Brought a small tear or two and a few heart tugs but Lonnie said it best when he said, "The best part is: when we were visiting with everyone it was like we just started up right where we left off." Wow! That was exactly what it was like. This morning we met up with Keli and Jerry to have breakfast and we visited for almost 2 hours. It felt so natural and just like we had just decided to go to breakfast one morning.

I realize I may never have friends like that in my life again, but I know that all those Stephenville friends will be in my life forever. I hope that you are fortunate enough to have that bond of friendships. Even if they are not part of your everyday life just remember when you meet up you can start up right where you left off!