I read today that an old friend is in the last stages of his
life; the family is keeping vigil and friends are praying him into God’s
arms. It makes me think of all the
people that pass through my life. This
friend was kind to me, made me laugh, gave good hugs and wonderful shoulder
rubs when my muscles were screaming after hours and hours of playing my guitar
and leading worship music.
It’s
interesting to think of the different communities and circles of friends –
those that stay with you for a shorter time and those that stay with you longer. Life is so transient, so
full of change and redirection. All that
change leads to changes in circles of friends.
I’m not really sure why that is; I’ve never been good at letting friends
go, at saying goodbye. I’m like Peter on
the mount of transfiguration; I want to make this permanent, hold on to
it! But Larry touched my life for a
period of time and I’m sad that he’s leaving the earth but happy for him that
he’s going home to Jesus. I pray for the
Lord to welcome him home; that Larry will hear the words, “Well done, good and
faithful servant!” and that he’ll know the glory of total and perfect healing.
Should I have stayed in touch better? We weren’t that kind of friends – just stayed
in touch through Facebook. So many levels of friendship, of sharing; and yet we
still have these circles where we touch each other’s life and heart and make a
difference. The shared memories, the
conversations, the laughter, etc. all are a gift for however long we have them.
So, God bless Larry.
Comfort his family and friends that are keeping watch as he passes into
your arms. Let him know I’m thinking
about him if that makes a smile in his heart and thank him for me – for his
friendship and kindness in those wonderful seasons with Cursillo. He blessed me and I pray I was a blessing to
him. Give him a big hug from me; and Lord,
would you rub his shoulders and tell him I said “thanks”?
