Good friends

Had a chance to catch up with a dear friend tonight - Dr. John Mulder, who's been a part of our lives for many years. I've played on a couple of John's albums, been with him in numerous concerts (at the beginning, my upright bass and I were "The John Mulder Band" :-D), and have been encouraged by, instructed through, ministered to and blessed by his friendship.

Don't you love it when you reconnect with someone, and it's one of those relationships that continue to grow, even though time and distance often seperate them? There are a few friendships I have that are like that - we grow older, and the things we talk about are different now than the things we talked about 20 years ago, but the connection has remained and matured through the years.

I've had a few, though, that were pretty much stuck in high school - "remember when we did..." And things never move beyond that. Granted, those were ok things, certainly worthy of a hit song like "Glory Days," but high school was almost 30 years ago. Hasn't anything changed since then? So, we tend to distance ourselves from those relationships - the ones that kind of stay frozen in time, and don't seem to have any relationship to where we are at now, in life and in faith.

Aren't you glad that our relationship with God doesn't stay stuck in high school? That He sees us today, now, here - and that His plan, His presence, and His love for us continues? That's the point, isn't it? His love is what makes our relationship grow and mature.

Think I'll go find my old yearbooks... and bury them. :-D (just kidding...)