A Good Friend

Today I had the privilege of spending the afternoon at a Twins baseball game with Jay Kendall. I first met Jay at Bethel College in the late 70's. We volunteered at Trout Lake Camp together, went to the same church, even went on a spring break road trip to Florida together with a third guy named Tom Zdrazil. It was Jay that nudged me to ask Julie out on our first date. Just 370 days later, Julie and I were married on Bethel's campus and Jay was one of our groomsmen. That was 30 years ago. While Jay has stayed pretty close to the Twin Cities, Julie and I have roamed the country. We lived in Missouri, Massachusetts, Idaho, and Washington state (with a few stops in Minnesota mixed in along the way). With all of that roaming it was easy to lose touch with friends like Jay, always thinking that you'd be back in town some day and would catch up then. But 5 years turns to 15, and 15 years turns to 25. Jay and I have talked and handful of times over those years - usually at events on Bethel's campus that I had returned for. We had recently 'friended' each other on Facebook and 'followed' each other on Twitter and had begun to slowly catch up on each other's lives. Today was different. With the pastoral backdrop of a Twins-Indians baseball matinee at the Dome we talked about our wives, our kids, our work, and what God has been teaching us recently. Jay and I talked about what it's been like for me to sit in the second chair and asked me what God has taught me there. I had the joy of telling him about the great staff team that I get to serve with and the developing trust and partnership that I enjoy with my 'first chair' boss. We've lived very different lives and have pursued very different interests but Jay and I both worship the same God. We both want to grow in our faith and obedience to Jesus. We both want to be the best dads and husbands we can. When Jay dropped me at my car at Bethel we stopped to pray for one another - thankful for the way our paths had crossed through the years and had brought us together for a few hours on a classic Minnesota summer afternoon. In many ways it was if we were still students on Bethel's campus and that the conversation had not taken breaks of several years. I'm grateful for the technology that spurred our reunion but am even more grateful for enduring friendships. Today I was reminded of the value of a good friend.