Friends are forever

In keeping with tradition, here are some recent photos of our family. Noah is three months! He rarely lets us lay him down when he's awake because he wants to be sitting up!
We were too late in taking the "naked baby" photos, but this one is sweet! He looks huge to me!
Yes, Mary still wants to hold Noah alot! Anna is very good with him too.

This may sound strange but I (Marcella) have collected an assortment of stories about how God has brought someone from my/our past back into our life. The reason that is amazing to me is because when I was growing up we moved every other year, atleast. Often I would attend a school for only one year, then as my grade changed, that would require a move to another school within that city. Once I went from elementary to middle school and in the next city moved from elementary to highschool. The following year I joined other ninth graders who were just attending highschool for the first time. By the time I graduated highschool I had attended nine schools and lived in eight different places that I could remember. After investing in a "letter" jacket at the first of three highschools, I gave up. :)

Because we moved so often I developed a mentality of thinking that "goodbye" was final. There was no email so ultimately I lost contact with nearly every friend from the past. Imagine my shock when one of my fourth grade classmates and I ran into one another in a college dorm hall during our first year. Better yet, my best friend at church in seventh and eight grade, reappeared on my dorm floor that same year. That friend who lived on the same floor in college, has reappeared twice, to my sister through her job at a Virginia lawfirm; the strangest part is that my friend lives in NC. My mother moved back to a town we once lived in and attended a community Bible study, which was attended by another dear friend of mine from church in seventh and eighth grades; she is now a missionary in Brazil with her husband and daughter. We are on their ministry's email list as a result of that one meeting with my mom. Recently, a young man that I attended highschool in Georgia with, showed up here in Tidewater. He is married, has a daughter and is living for the Lord. Bob and I enjoyed a wonderful evening with them last month. We discovered one another on the highschool reunion webpage. About five years ago, we were in a church plant, and on Easter we met a lovely family of seven who was getting ready to move out of our area. The mother and I connected immediately that day, but I thought we'd never see one another again. Imagine my surprise to see her sweet face in a fabric store only one mile from our house a couple years later. They haven't ever moved back to our town, but thankfully, God continues to have our lives intersect. We have seen each other in some very unlikely places including Nagshead!

Why does God do this? It definitely helps me to remember that every interaction I have needs to be God-honoring. I would always want someone to be glad to see me again, or to remember good things from our last meeting.

I also think it's a little taste of heaven. God is truly able to see the beginning from the end. What can feel like a lifetime down here is just a vapor to Him. He is weaving our lives together in a way that we often don't understand. Being reunited with someone who loves the Lord is such a faith-building experience. It's encouraging at the least. And when the Lord brings someone in my path from the past who is not walking with God, I am reminded in a dramatic way, to pray for them. Sometimes I even have the opportunity to speak Truth into their current circumstances.

Now that I've lived in the same area since I was sixteen, with the exception of four years of college, I'm starting to get the message that I must not burn bridges or think that anyone I meet is unimportant. I even had to train myself to be glad that I saw someone I knew when I went out in public. I had become so accustomed to annoniminity that I felt a little crowded if I was recognized. I don't like to admit it, but in social settings I would often purposely direct my attention to those people that I was fairly sure I'd be friends with for a long time. I suppose it was a habit I'd made during my school years since time was always so short. As it turns out, good friends have turned up in some unlikely situations and I was a fool to take anyone for granted.

Our family has been friends with atleast three other families who moved out of the state, even the country, yet we've had the privilege of fellowshipping with them again. We never imagined we'd see them on this side of heaven. What a blessing! I'm always thankful that I took the time to respond to their emails and keep some form of contact going, although it seemed there would be no reason to do so. God has made all of those little efforts worthwhile with every reunion. Every friendship has value. Every person is valuable. Every interaction has significance. I'm starting to get it. Thank you Lord for being patient with me!