Today I had an encounter that took me back thirty years. It started yesterday when I got to my office. I saw on my answering system that a call had come in. As I played back the call it was a person from my past who was in town and wanted to get together. He was only going to here for two days and wanted to know if we could get together.  Let me take you back.

In my twenties my late wife and I had started a young couples bible study in Lexington MA with about 20 couples that grew to 50+ couples.  It wasn’t just a bible study but was a group with a mission to live transformed lives and to spread the good news to those we came in contact with.  In 1985, we left  New England and never returned.  There was silence for 30 years, until yesterday when John called me and wanted to get together.  We decided on Butterfields for breakfast today.

When I walked in this morning at 7:30, there John Dorr was sitting a few tables from the front door (he’s new to town and beat me there-GPS).  It was as if we had never been apart.  We went down memory lane of the experiences we had together.  His laugh hadn’t changed. His humor was just as I had remembered. His facial mannerisms were the same. Most importantly his commitment to the Lord and his journey with Christ was still growing.  It was an amazing experience that in an instant brought me up to snuff with my long ago friend.  I was reminded as we sat there of the passage in 3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”.

The second passage that hit me this morning related to  time when Peter said, ” . . .one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one.”  When we are walking with the Lord, time stops and it doesn’t matter how long you have been away from a person, reconnection can take place in an instant.  It reminded me of the preciousness of friendships that I have all over the country.  We have an open invitation to New Hampshire when we are the area.

This journey sometimes brings wonderful surprises of old friendships that become new again.  Saying yes to those experiences and blocking out the noise of business bring great joy.  Enjoy the journey.