Good Friends Make Homecomings Sweet.

August 9, 2023

I attended a memorial service recently for someone who had been in my life over twenty years ago. The memorial service brought me back in contact with many friends from that time. It was so good to catch up, even briefly. To give and get a hug. To remember the times we had together.

I’ll briefly explain why time separated me from many of those friends. My first wife and I divorced in the early 90’s. Our family attended a church with all of these fine people. When I remarried in 1998, I moved to another area of Charlotte. That move, along with our new blended family deciding it would be good to look for a church home that would be ours as my wife’s family came from one church and my daughter and I attended this church. Great decision by the way—though it made it difficult to stay in contact with everyone.

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Back to the memorial service. It amazed me just how many memories ran through my mind as I looked at faces I had not seen in many years. I reminded one person of a Christmas card they had sent me shortly after my divorce. That card means a lot to me today. I reminded another person of how they took me and my new fiancée to a jeweler and helped us pick out rings. We are still customers of that jeweler because of her help.

I was a bit saddened after leaving the service because I had not kept up with these friends very well over the years. At the same time, I was encouraged by the loving fellowship and all the wonderful memories we shared.  

I don’t really have a big message this week other than to share my celebration of having good friends and to encourage each of us to reach out to our friends more. Now, my wife does this well. She has regular contact with friends from high school and times since. Me, not so much. I’m going to try to do better.

What is something we can do to make and have good friends?

Here are a few verses that may help.

“The righteous choose their friends carefully.” (Proverbs 12:26, NIV)

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17, NIV)

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if [a]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NASB)

May we have good friends who make homecomings sweet.