friends

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Late summer a handful of my good friends came to visit me in Port Aransas. Mostly guys with whom I went to college; they've known me for over 20 years. There's always a reunion quality to those visits, for me at least. Some of them live in the same town, but a few of us are flung further afield. Off to mountains, lakes, and beaches.

Our time together is playful, sometimes literally. We play music and soccer. Sometimes mischievous, but not malicious. The visits are always intuitive. A friend who is a relative newcomer noticed two times in particular when we went from one activity to the next, never saying a word, just one person making the first move to touch the soccer ball or play a note, and then minutes later the rest of us joining in the fun.

It's nice to be know and be known. We've spent our adult lives learning about trusting one another. We've witnessed one another forming relationships, and discerning vocations. That's part of the time, too. Checking in and making sure we're still working on the journey. Listening for deep discontent, and not changing the subject when it's found. Digging a little deeper and encouraging one another to take a leap. I can blame some big decisions, in part, on the encouragement from those guys over the years.

One of them like to quote Thomas Aquinas. He always gets the quote right, and I'm likely to mess it up here, but I know he'll correct me, "The only thing truly worthwhile is becoming God's friend." He usually goes on to say the way he comes to know what it's like to be friends with God is to be friends with humans. We creatures of God, part of the expression of God's love for us. So, I'm thankful that I get to know God's love through those friends, not only through them, but especially.

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