Fellowship

I was thinking today about some of my friends from the past, different times and different places, and how much I miss those people. We all have memories of places and times that are special to us, that impacted us, made us more considerate of others because of the way they echoed truth in our life. Trust is such a special thing, and when you find that trust in another person, or group of people, it can be so special that you never want the time to end.

Unfortunately, or, "alas" if you prefer, all things come to an end, sometimes far more quickly than we ever expected was possible. If you're lucky, you move from one exerience to another like this and you're able to gather up one or two intimate friends along the way. The circumstances that made each meeting special fade though. Groups of friends disperse. It is only natural.

That seems very depressing on the face of it. Would that time and life were such that each time you encountered such a circumstance where you experienced true fellowship with another group of friends, you could introduce that group to the group which you had already met, and your life could just be one large collaboration of fellowship, all your old friends mingling in with all your new. That isn't possible though. Not in this life.

It isn't truly depressing though. Each of these events in our lives is special, from that first group of friends to the one you are in now we learn to trust, to reach out, to extend ourselves, to forgive and to love. Although things like marriage and death may separate us, we echo in each others lives and hearts throughout our whole lives. Whether we see each other every day or have not seen each other in decades.

This is for Chris, Sharon, Donny, Don, Diane, Kathy, Sarah, Greg, Ken, Paul, Mike, Jeff, Cara, Jennifer, Julie, and so many other generous people I have met along the way that I can not see every day. I wish that I could. Thank you for sharing yourselves with me.