Friends

All through life we make friends. Some have become very close while others have drifted away. Many are gone due to accidents and death while others have fallen away.  Many have been acquaintances that have become close friends, while other friendships have eased back to be only acquaintances.

I’ve been thinking a lot about friends because of several incidents that seem to come together at once. The first was the death of a long time friend and Pastor, Norman Lee Johnston. We shared the same birth month and traveled together on the church camping trips out west as well as a missionary trip to Newfoundland and Labrador. He allowed my son Andrew Beck and several of our church’s youth to accompany him on a return trip to South Korea where he started churches years ago.

The second thought that became interwoven with these thoughts was my blocking of a long time friend on Facebook. His extremely Leftist political views and his stand on the faith and biblical ideas finally sealed it. He wasn’t able to share my views and I wasn’t able to share his without arguments. Those differences caused dismay and interrupted my walk with God. Since then, I still pray for him and his sickly mother, but it isn’t this constant back and forth of emotions and there is more peace in my life.

The third incident happened last evening. I got a call from a writer friend who has many health problems of her own. She wasn’t able to find her cat in her apartment. One bedroom, one bath, living room, and a kitchenette, but with her health issues she couldn’t get behind the sofa, behind a cabinet, or under her bed. She was upset because her cat wouldn’t come to her when she called for nearly a day and she was sure he was dead. I arrived and looked behind the sofa, under chairs, and behind the hutch, no cat.

Now this cat is famous and has a book out. His sales for his one book outsells all of my books put together. My search continued into the bathroom, then into the bedroom. No cat and I sat on the edge of my friend’s bed, thinking her cat ran away. I glanced under her desk and there he was, staring back at me. My friend called to him and he stayed there, staring at us both. I reached under, grabbed the scruff of his neck, and hauled him out, placing him in my friend’s arms. The vet placed him on new medications. My friend started them the day before. I believe the cat was hiding so he wouldn’t have to take the medicine. I was a being good friend, although the cat may not believe it.