Memory Lane

I had quite a nostalgic last couple of weekends. First, my wife and I traveled to Southern California to celebrate my aunt’s 80th birthday where I got to see my older brother for the first time in 19 years! That was quite a joyous reunion. He’s hardly changed at all and is in the best of health. It was great sharing our common love for jazz and recalling a few memories growing up together in a small town in Texas.

The following weekend, I met up with another “brother” who shared the good news of Christ with me. I’ve not seen him in more than 20 years and it was a sheer delight to learn of God’s care for him and his family. The first order of business was to show pictures of our children and grandchildren. Wow! Did I just say that!? That’s him on the left and me on the right getting into my 1955 Volkswagen Beetle (we weren’t grandparents just yet).

During our reunion and after several discussion topics that began with “Remember when…” or “Whatever happened to….,” we talked about our faith. I was grateful to learn he and his wife remain committed believers and their faith is as strong and sure as when I last saw them.

While traveling down memory lane with my friend, I reminded him of the Bible he gave me in 1978 after I prayed to receive Jesus into my life (see my journey). That same Bible was later used by God to introduce my wife into the faith just before we got married. While laid up after a surgical procedure, the Bible was sitting around my apartment and she began reading it. It wasn’t long after, through a series of events, that God called her to follow Jesus, doubtless in part because my friend introduced me to Jesus and to God’s Word.

I still have that Bible today. Though the cover is all but gone, the memories my friend and I share and the lives that have changed will last forever!

Soli Deo gloria!