Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Friendship and reflection

My buddy Jason received a double lung transplant this morning.  Everything seemed to go well with the procedure, but now this evening he seems to be having some difficulties in the recovery process.  Please pray for him if you read this.

Jason is a childhood friend with whom I have kept in contact pretty well over the years.  I thought all of my childhood friends would be my close friends as adults, but as it turns out that's not the case!  I have to admit, it's mostly Jason's doing that we kept in touch.  When I went through the self-centered college years and early 20's, he did a great job of keeping the friendship going.  Now as adults, it's cool to have a friend with whom I have that much history.  Maybe I'm feeling old today or something, or maybe his surgery is impacting me more than I thought, but I'm just reflecting on the magnitude of what it's like to have a friendship with someone that has lasted almost 30 years.  Jason knew me when I was an awkward middle school goofball, and he still wants to be friends with me!  That's saying something.

Jason's situation has caused me to slow down and reflect.  I dropped everything today to go to the hospital because he got "the call" for new lungs, and it's not very often that I stop everything I'm doing to slow down for something.  This got my attention, and it caused me to reflect on our good times together over the years.  How I wish we could make forts in the sand at Pelee Island, or go ice fishing at Lake Chitaqua, or jump in the creek to join "the cool club" at the Beck's hunting lodge, or race trikes at Jason's parents mobile home in the mountains.  We have had so many fun times together... our childhood was over the top, and I'm very thankful for that.  I think that's a major reason why I'm directing a mentoring program as an adult, because I know the power of connecting with friends and being mentored by older men over fun activities.  I have many memories like that with Jason, and I'm blessed to have such a great friend.  I hope the friendship will last for many more years to come!

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