Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? As the year closes, I have a lot to remember and for which to be thankful. So many memories made with my children and husband. Taking trips with my family. Time spent with neighbors and friends. A new church branch beginning and spurting with growth. Another year of celebrating birthdays. Health. Love. Forgiveness. Grace.
I have an old acquaintance that I never forgot, and old friend that was always in my mind. My earliest memories contain memories of her. My first birthday party pictures always have her smiling by my side, or playing with my toys. My first trip to the emergency room was from an accident on her porch. My earliest sleepovers were with her. My first days of school always included walking with her to the busstop and waiting for our bus. We shared secrets, big wheels, mud pies, ball games, music... We played, we laughed, and we loved. We also grew apart.
I went away to college, she went into the workforce. I moved away from our hometown, she stayed. We tried. We tried not to grow apart, we tried to remain true to each other, but life had other ideas. It happened. We lost touch, we lost communication, we lost each other. We lost our sisterhood.
We moved along in life, marrying, having children and becoming the moms we always talked about. Our kids would grow up to be best friends, we said. We'll grow old and gray together, we said. Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
As the years have gone by, so many times I've picked up the phone and put it back down. I've written letters that only got torn up and thrown away. I've run into her and made small talk, only to walk away feeling empty and sad inside. Old acquaintances should never be forgotten! This one time, I didn't hang up the phone. I left a message. This one time I didn't throw the card away. I put a stamp on it and mailed it. She didn't forget. I didn't forget.
As the year draws to a close, I've rekindled a friendship that has been a missing part of my life for 20 years. Why so long? We don't know. We're not wasting time on the "if only's" or the "what if's". We have a lot of years to make up. Our kids must meet each other, and though I don't expect they'll be best friends, they have shared stories that link them in ways of which they are not even aware. We'll grow older and grayer together. We've forgiven, and we've extended grace to each other, as we've been given grace from above. We're learning to love each other again. She's like the long lost sister for whom I've been waiting to come home. My heart was always open, and it has welcomed her back in.
