Old Friends

"I want to sit in a different place this morning," my husband said as we left our classroom to go to the sanctuary after Sunday School.  A friend from class had said her dad was going to be there and told us where they would be sitting.  Howard remembered her father from when they were growing up and couldn't wait to see him.

"I remember when I sold your dad a basketball goal for  two dollars and a banty hen!" Howard told her. He was in the same class as a younger brother, but he knew the older boy, too. Howard said he often played basketball with them at their house after school. Both boys were very tall and quite talented at basketball in high school.  The older one went on to become a basketball star in college, with the hometown folks eagerly following him on the sports pages of the newspaper.

"I see him," Howard whispered to me as we sat down in the sanctuary and he pointed out an old gentleman several rows away.  When the service was dismissed, he hurried to the next aisle to greet his long lost friend.

"How was it?" I asked as my husband rejoined me in the foyer.  I was surprised at his crestfallen look and to hear him say, "He didn't remember me!"

"What?  Not even the banty chicken deal?" I asked incredulously. "When he carried it to your house and carried the goal all those blocks home?" Well, they had been only about 9 and 11 years old!  But my husband has a remarkable memory.  However, this wasn't the first time someone from the past didn't remember him, and it was a little disconcerting.  When we first came back to this area several years ago, we were met with blank stares when we had to tell some old friends our name at a church reunion. Nothing we said rang a bell!

When we had searched for a seat "somewhere else," the only place we could find was almost on the back row.  As we settled in, I saw a familiar figure right in front of us. A friend who had moved away a few years ago!  I couldn't help but hug her and ask about their new baby, who was in the nursery.  Later, I got a glimpse of him.  He had evidently joined his mother when I wasn't noticing, and  I got a peek as his baby needs necessitated a return nursery visit.

Maybe we should sit in a different place more often! It's so easy to get into a routine, but by doing so I miss seeing many others in the large congregation.  People may or may not forget us, but I Corinthians 13:12 says, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known."