Friendship

 Friends. Heartwarming. Kind. Shared memories. Smiles and hugs.

I have friends on my mind this week. Old friends and new friends. My 50th year high school class reunion is this weekend and I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with some friends I haven't seen in many years. I'm hoping to recognize everyone; thank goodness for name tags. How do you catch up on 50 years of life with 60-some classmates?

When we moved to Ankeny to be close to our grandchildren (who then moved to the east coast) we didn't know a soul in town. We met our neighbors over time, as additional houses were built along the cul-de-sac. For the first year we kept ties with our home church, an hour away. It became rather tiresome spending two hours on the road each Sunday, so we eventually looked for a church in the Ankeny area. We made friends there through small groups and Bible studies. We joined a local gym that has a walking track and a pool and offered water aerobics. I made good friends there. I joined WW and made more friends there. Wow, I realize now how blessed I am with new friends.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," (John 15:12-13 NIV).

I'm kind of excited about this weekend reunion time and a little nervous, too. I was pretty shy back in my high school days but I had a nice group of friends that I hung out with. Many of my friends were fellow band members. We took two band trips together and made many memories on the bus rides to Rapid City, S.D. (freshman year) and to Winnepeg, Canada (senior year).

Friends are so valuable in my life. I'm thankful for everyone, whether it has been 50 years or one. God has been so good in leading wonderful people into my life. I thank God for each one of you, friends.