Across an ocean where there's nothing to explain...

Hello there,

I love catching up with old friends. I'm not very good at it, but I do love it. I have a new commitment to myself to respond to emails within a week.
Recently, I got an email from a friend I haven't heard from in two years. It was really weird how it made my day. And what I loved best about it was that it didn't even feel like any time had passed at all. I mean, sure she's engaged and living in a foreign country, but it was still....just her. Isn't it beautiful when there's nothing to explain after so much silence? Isn't it beautiful how God crafts friendships and relationships to fulfull certain functions in our lives at certain times...how He forges their depth and understanding out of suffering, shared circumstances, sacrifice, and love? Isn't it beautiful how we can talk to someone we haven't talked to for years and find nothing but a friend. A person who has shared a little bit of our life at some time and who understands and holds a part of us that perhaps no one else ever can, except our Father? I think it's one of the sweetest things about life.
And yes, of course it's also very sweet to have a friendship that has weathered the many obstacles and challenges life puts in the way and emerges stronger and still intact with no separation, no silence, no good intentions falling by the wayside. But I am not talking about those precious friendships. I am talking about the ones that pop up at certain times in life, the ones that definitely fulfilled a specific purpose and can be recovered occasionally throughout life. In a way, relationships and friendships are markers on the journey. When I hear from someone in my past, I not only celebrate in the new, but I think back to the time when that person was in my life.
So I'm saying all of this to say...if it's been awhile since I've heard from you, please know that I would delight in hearing from you again. There are no expectations, after all, there is nothing to explain about why we lost contact...only an update to give.