Holy friendship

I just had a two-day visit to see my mom, who lives in the Seattle area. She is 93 and on hospice, but doing quite well at the moment. She and I had good time together, and even though it was a short trip, I found time to see two old friends from childhood. Because I have moved around and many of my friends have too, we live all over the country. Long stretches of time pass between our seeing one another, and I constantly wonder what it would have been like to stay in the same town, seeing each other regularly. Instead, we catch the opportunities when they arise, and occasionally text or call in between - never as much as we should. I renew my resolve to spend more time with friends every year, and every year, I fail. But perhaps because we're all getting older and talking about things like retirement dates, grown children, and serious illness, it's beginning to feel more imperative. We don't have forever - we never did. And friendships are important. Even a little time together is sacred. 

Our Bible study just went through the stories of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection. As we talked together about the stories around the table, what stood out to me was all the time Jesus spent with his friends: dinner with them on the last night, asking their support in the long night in Gethsemane, and then repeatedly appearing to them anew in risen form at his resurrection. Jesus didn't get too busy for his friends - his friends, his community, were his business. This is a soul reorientation that I need - maybe you do too.