Long-distance Friends

I often envy people who have lived in a place for many years and have good friends—friends they have known for years—whom they see all the time. I've moved a lot, so many of the friends I have known for years all live some place else. I've lived in South Dakota, Montana, Washington State, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Florida. I have collected friends from all those states, but I rarely get to see them. That's the sad part and thus my envy of those who get to see friends on a regular basis.

I have a large Christmas card list filled the names of friends we rarely see. I catch up with them this one time of the year. However, because I moved so much, I lost track of some of them over the years. Some of them have moved as well. I often wonder what happened to the couple that we used to play cards with every week when we were first married and living in a small town in Ohio over thirty years ago. She gave me a recipe for pizza dough that I still use to this day, and I get raves on my homemade pizza thanks to that recipe.

We met another couple in that same small town and fortunately, even with all our moves, we have managed to stay in contact. I attribute this to the fact that the men both worked in the healthcare field and had mutual business interests that kept them in touch through the years. We have been on numerous vacations together, and we always have a great time. When we get together, we just pick up where we left off.

When we lived in the Atlanta area, we found some good friends at our church who have a daughter the same age as one of our daughters. Although we don't see each other very often, we have attended the weddings of each others' children and have shared a lot of games of Trivial Pursuit. Last spring they were kind enough to let me stay with them at their place up in the north Georgia mountains so I could do research for my book, Homecoming Blessings, that comes out in April this year.

When we lived in Dallas, we had a group of friends that were in our small group Bible study each week. We had a bond because we were all the parents of teenagers. All of those teenagers are adults, and now we parents share photos of weddings and grandchildren.

I have maintained contact with one of my best friends from high school. Whenever I'm in the Spokane area, we get together. What a treat! She helped me with the research for my book, Love Walked In. I have reconnected with a number of friends who happened to learn about my books. Two of these folks helped me with the research on my January book, Mommy's Hometown Hero. I am amazed at how God worked to bring me in contact with people from my past just when they had the information I needed.

Just a few days ago, I received an e-mail from a fellow teacher, who taught across the hall from me when we were living in Georgia. She just happened to see my book on the shelf at the grocery store and recognized my name. It was wonderful to find out about the things she has been doing since we moved away.

I thank God for all the people he has brought into my life and the friendships I have made in each stop I've made in my life. Whenever I start to envy those who have long-time friends living right where they do, I realize I wouldn't have friends spread across the country if it weren't for the fact that I have moved so many times. Also, He has brought me my many long-distance writing friends.

Tell us about some of your long-distance friends.
Merrillee