Old Friends

Today has been a day of meeting and greeting old friends.  Friends who I have known since I was a small child.
I always find it fascinating that traits that our parents had and still have are carried out into the next generation.  I also find it fascinating how God interweaves our lives in most unexpected ways.  Friends in their 30's and 40's now have children of their own.  They home-educate them.  Most unexpectedly!  As I have grown older and contact has been sporadic over the years, it has been a delight to spend time with them. Hear their stories.  See our children become friends.  Mingle with each other.  Much in the way that I did with the parents when we were young.  I sometimes wonder how the disciples carried on their friendships.  Walking in and out of each others lives and whether their children mixed with each other when they came back on furlough.
Then there are the friends that I have come to know as adults.  Different friendships, and yet with those who are kindred spirits a bonding that feels as if they have known me forever. God given friendships.  I wonder how often we make contact with those that we love and miss dearly because they are hundreds of miles away.  Do I protect myself from the pain of missing them or do I spend more time connecting with their lives because they are special and their children may one day be close friends of  my children.