“Time it was
And what a time it was
It was . . .
A time of innocence
A time of confidences”
- Paul Simon
“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”
– Winnie the Pooh
This post will be meaningless to almost everyone. I am going to show you pictures of people you do not know and likely never will. Their significance is lost to you.
But not to us.
There was a time when these precious people formed a Sunday School group at St Luke’s Methodist Church in Fresno, California. We were called “Young Marrieds”. We were thinner then, and had more hair. We all hated David Cobb because he always had such great hair. (He still does.) Our knees didn’t ache like they do now. The world was in front of us.
This period of time was a critical one for us. I was in the throes of residency training which hit me hard more than a few times. We both were hungry for refuge and a place of acceptance. It was here that our spiritual growth would break through the earth and begin to seek the sun.
We have been married a long time and I think both of us would tell you that this early time with these friends did more than anything else to help us commit to each other. We learned the value of steadfastness and how a strong foundation weathers storms.
And we were not alone. The other members of the group were all facing struggles of their own. Yet here in the room where we met, the tigers that came at night would be held at bay. At least for awhile. Together, we were enough. You felt recharged and ready to face another week.
Children began to arrive and the name of the group was changed to “Young Families”. My training finally ended and life, like a river, would carry all of us to other shores. It became a struggle to get together as often as we would have liked.
Yet, despite these hurdles, over the years we would occasionally reassemble. There were weddings and funerals to attend. There were hikes that needed to be accomplished and illnesses to be endured. Life went on. We have grown older. Children are leaving the “Young Families” homes. There are grandchildren now.
However, each time we would meet, it was the same. You would see each other after many years and simply pick up the conversation where it left off. No pretense, no awkward silences. Just acceptance and love. We were enough. You didn’t need to add anymore.
It is altogether good and proper for us to once again see each other at Thanksgiving. Gratitude floods our hearts as we hug, laugh and tell stories with these people most of you will never meet.
I will tell our friends and family who know us today this truth. Whatever you find about Colleen and I that is good and true began here with these friends. They were good teachers.
David and Sara - you were sorely missed.
Harry Chapin writes -
“That leaves the evening, to share a fire with a friend or two,
to lose sight of the hours
To go lightly with you
I let time go lightly when I'm here with you,
I let time go lightly when the day is through.
I keep a watch on time when I've got work to do,
I let time go lightly with you.
Old friends, they mean much more to me than the new friends,
Cause they can see where you are,
and they know where you've been.
I let time go lightly
with you and a fire,
and a friend or two.
A friend or two.
And you.”
Lord, may it not be too long before we see each other again.
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