Friends are Friends Forever

When I was in elementary school, we were taught a little ditty:

Make new friends

And keep the old

One is silver and the other, gold.

Ain't it the truth?  When we left Indiana after having lived there for 10 years, it broke my heart to say goodbye to all my good friends.  Their parting gift to me was a quilt made up of little squares that each friend had made.  On the back of the quilt they had written some sweet and encouraging words.  

We drove 13 hours straight back to the land of our birth, a place stuffed with lakes and snow, mosquitoes and humidity (and yes, I love it all).  I put that quilt up in our new house and let it comfort me when I felt lonely for friends.  It's rather disconcerting to realize that you could go anywhere in town and not one soul would recognize you, call out your name, give you a hug, stop to laugh and chat with you...  But I've always told my children "today's strangers are tomorrow's friends," and lo it came to pass.  So when we ended up moving again after 6 years, it seemed unbearable that I had to leave another set of dear, true friends. No sooner do I get sewn up with friends in a new quilt, than the seams get ripped and my square tumbles off.  Sometimes I'm still a part of the quilt and someone else tears the seams of their square. Goodbye! It seems impossible to stop this painful parting in life.  People move, people stay when you leave, children grow up and relocate, friendships drift apart, and in the ultimate parting, people die.

But not all partings are forever, for in the glorious resurrection, friends in Christ will have a grand family reunion.  Somebody will be handing out matching "Jesus is Lord" t-shirts, the feast will be laid out on the banqueting table, all petty squabbles will have melted away, the quilt will be complete, and this lovely meet-and-greet will go on for eternity.  Friends, I want you all to be there.  I pray that you will be there.  If you're not part of the resurrection life, what's holding you back?

 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 1:18-19