Friends beyond time and distance

Yesterday I had a most wonderful experience. After much investigation, I was able to track down and reconnect with an amazing woman who was one of my first friends. Her name is Jen and she is one of the most lively, intelligent, beautiful, and sensitive women I have ever met. A true ball of energy and spontaneity, she is the kind of person who sparks life into every environment she walks into.

We met in a most peculiar way. I was going to college in California and enduring a particularly lonely and desperate time - feeling out of place and isolated from the Alaska wilderness and wildlife of my youth. To make a measly attempt at connecting with nature - I took my study books outside and headed to nearby meadow to do some coursework. As I was lying on my stomach, reading, Hermeneutics, a small ladybug landed on the page and seemed to just sit there, staring at me, daring me to turn the page. I sat mesmerized, feeling as though this were the most beautiful wild creature in the world - and God sent her directly to me for the bit of encouragement that I longed for.

Later that afternoon, I made my way to the campus gym and sat quietly watching a few guys shoot hoops. As I sat there, a girl I'd seen in classes, but hardly knew, came up and we began to talk about our day. I was blown away when Jen said that she was really missing the outdoor life of her Massachusetts home. She began to tell me that to cope with her frustration, early that day, she headed out for a jog, praying that God would help her reconnect with nature. As she was out for her run, she encountered a bumblebee and was immediately overwhelmed by the fact that God sent it her way. We laughed at the oddity of it all, and how strange it was that we were both in the same place, at the same time. As we sat there, a man walked up and told us that he had two tickets to a whale-watching trip scheduled for the next day. "Do you two want the tickets?" We were blown away. It was exactly the kind of nature connection we had been praying for.

The next day, we found ourselves onboard a charter boat in the Pacific Ocean, scanning the seas for sign of whale, giddy, renewed, and alive. We didn't find any whales during that trip - but we did find a new friendship. One that always seemed full of adventure.

After about four years, life took us in separate directions and we quickly lost touch. However, I never stopped thinking about our friendship and wondering where her path had taken her. While we spoke, yesterday, I was thrilled to her about her world and the joys that have come her way. I was equally hurt when I realized that she, like myself, has experienced great hurt that I never knew about.

We come across amazing people in our lives and cherish the moments that we spend with them. However, often it is easy to walk away and obliviously surrender ourselves to the whirl of life around us, never seeing the whirl in the worlds of others. I missed out on some amazing experiences and opportunities to share with her how much I valued her in my life.

Perhaps this is a lesson to us all to do what we can to maintain friendships and connections, beyond time, distance, and challenging experiences. Life is an adventure and we need all of the support we can get and give.