Pastor's Note

LONG-TIME FRIENDS
January 28th, 2007

I knew two women who were long-time friends. (I guess I don’t like calling them “old” friends.) One, Grace, has since died. But Rose, the other, remains busy with family and her parish. Both surpassed their eightieth birthdays.
I’m not sure when Grace met Rose, but they knew each other since they had small children. They celebrated birthdays together, milestone events in the children’s lives, and talked to each other quite often. At one point, they even worked together.
Sadly, both became widows; they were there for each other at those times. As health problems haunted them, they used to visit one another and then try to comfort each other.
Most people have friends, some from way back. Many times friendships get lost in the midst of all the other activities of life. For me, I marveled at the strength of this friendship between Rose and Grace that went back more than sixty years. They had seen each other through so many things. There was loyalty, honesty, humor, and love in their relationship.
Every so often we are blessed by God with those special individuals whose presence transforms our lives. Unfortunately, it is easy to take friends for granted. But we need to appreciate them and make time for them.
Friends are a gift from God. Hopefully, our friends will learn that about us as well.