Reconciled

Just yesterday, I had a telephone conversation with one of my oldest friends (which was instigated by an email he'd sent me the day before).  And this is literally on the heels of lunching (tomorrow) with my absolutely oldest friend (from my college days) who's soon to be moving far away relative to a job change, therefore I'm thinking lots today about old friends and what they mean / have meant to me.

The thought of having this telephone conversation brought about some trepidation because my friend and I have just recently reconnected formally (Samson Society retreat up in Eva, TN).  Having not spoken nor seen him for 7+ years prior to the retreat obviously speaks to a personally difficult story of its own (which I'll choose to not disclose here).

Nonetheless, what I ending up receiving from this aforementioned telephone conversation was much more than I expected.  In fact, now that I think about it, perhaps it wasn't so much anticipation as deference stemming from the now recollection of whom this friend once was within my life.

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Today, I'm blessed with receiving much respect from various men.  I'm thankful that it comes in droves from my family (wife, daughters and even my 'rents!) as well as numerous Samson Society men, including the man himself, Mr. Nate Larkin.  But it wasn't always this way for Rob.  In fact, for most of my life, I've been suspicion-ed a lot, shunned on occasion and even demonized.  But, that all lead up to when I met this aforementioned friend 7+ years ago and, it was then that I found my first fan, and in turn, I tried to become the same for him.  Supermanfan to Supermanfan.  Neither of us had ever had that kind of support via another guy and, the timing for each of us was ideal.  Essentially, we learned quickly how best to cross pollinate our investment in each other, and God blessed our pursuits in droves.  For me though, I've always recognized that season as a wellspring of positive momentum relative to Rob's maturation as an individual, and this I shared with my old friend about 12 months ago (via a letter).

In general, the weightiness of respect in is proportion to relational longevity.  And this is due to the fact that longevity breeds opportunity to study, observe, and react to another man...for better or worse...warts and all over a set period of time.  This is one reason righteous, endearing, enduring church fellowship / work is so helpful to Christians.  But I digress...

So, what exactly happened during yesterday's telephone conversation that I feel so compelled to write about here?

My old friend spoke into my life, and damn, it was so freaking sweet!  In particular, about my writing abilities.

And, I heard this CLEARLY AND COMPREHENDED IT WELL because of what I've described above relative to who he (still) represents within my life.

What a gift this was for Rob.  And so unexpected.

I am so pleased that we've been reconciled.  God is so good!  I never imagined that I would again be receiving these gifts of respect from Chris.  I can only hope to return the love as we look ahead to where the Lord leads.