Long Ago, Far Away, and Right Now

Sometimes--okay, often I wonder if it is worth it, me sitting here tapping at my keyboard, wrangling with technology that gets uppity and tries to prove that it's smarter than me, trying to navigate the world of networked blogs and figure out what on earth a Blog Frog is.  I wonder if I'm being self-indulgent, wasting my time at the computer, telling my stories on the internet, and pretending that any of it matters to anyone but me.

And then, I get a hand-written letter in the mail from a long-ago and far-away friendship.  The words say that she has received the gift of time catching up with another friend from that long ago time.  They have broken bread together and shared each others joys and sorrows.  They have born witness to God's faithfulness in each other's lives.  And somewhere in the conversation, one friend tells the other about this ridiculous little blog of mine.

The friend reads and she writes to me.  Some stories have struck familiar chords, and so she writes offering out of the abundance from which she herself has received.  She tells of struggle and how God has provided, and I hear my Father's voice reminding me that He does not leave us alone on this pilgrimage.  We are one body, and each of us is His gift to the other, His blessing.  And this is just one example from the past few days in which I've received the gift of hearing from friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, from long ago and far away.  Some blessed me when we walked together the streets of my hometown; some walked faithfully with me on my college campus.  Today, they bless me still.

And so right now, today, I continue to write, to tell my stories, to tap out my thanksgiving.



501. Husband who gives the gift of a train trip to visit a far-away friend.

502. Making train connection at DC.

503. Friend willing to pick me up at train station at 2 a.m.

504. One last fling at the beach.

505. Meeting her new friends, the ones God has given her to bear burdens, bind up and bless.

506. Free concert and fireworks on a perfectly warm late summer evening, given as gift to military families.

507. Getting matching t-shirts made to wear to the concert and laughing ourselves silly.

508. Sitting with friend in evening salt air, eating crab cake sandwiches, talking about husbands and children and failure and grace.

509. Fish jumping in the surf.

510. Sharks in the water (and viewing them from the shore)

511. Pelicans

512. Reconnecting with friends from high school, college, and adult married life all within the same week. Introducing them to one another and knowing that our lives are all woven together because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

513, Knowing that each one of these friends is God’s gift, ordained to be a part of my life because of the goodness and kindness of my loving Father who knows who and what I need most, and when I need them.

514. Handwritten mail—words flowing from heart to hand to paper.

515. Being met at the train station by husband and son when returning home.

516. Returning home.

517. Brother willing to invest time in nephew, to teach him, train him, bear with him, and appreciate him.

518. RUF campus minister investing time in son.

519. Getting through wisdom tooth removal.

520. Pain medication.

521. Enjoying a movies miniseries together as a family.

522. Receiving the invitation from the women in my church to the shower for my baby girl.

523. A walk with my neighbor and an invitation to be a blessing.