I had forgotten that David and I went to the same college in Arkansas. That was in the late 60’s. At that time I was thinking about job and marriage. How our lives might reconnect over the years never crossed my mind.

Years later Bev and I moved to Lubbock, Texas to work with the same church that David and his wife attended. We didn’t run in the same circles during our college years, but we became good friends in Lubbock. Then our paths separated again.

He and his family moved to New Mexico and we eventually moved to California. That was over 20 years ago. About 3 years ago his mother (who lived in Lubbock) asked me if I would perform her funeral. She was dying slowly and knew it. The e-mail correspondence we continued through that period was inspiring and encouraging to me.

Recently David e-mailed us to say he would be in Santa Clara, California for a workshop, and he came over to Merced this weekend for a visit.

It was wonderful to reconnect with him and interesting to talk about the changes that life brings. We are very different people than we were in those early days in college. But we are still friends. I will treasure his visit.