A Tribute to Old Friends

"A friend is always loyal" (Proverbs 17:17, NLT)

I got myself in trouble with some of my "old" friends recently, when I made the statement about Adventureland that "All my friends are here" (see posting, "Back home again in Iowa"). That was not a well thought out comment, and it conveyed a different meaning than I had intended to convey. I sincerely apologize to any of my friends, old or new, who may have been offended by it.

When I speak of "old" friends, of course, I am talking about the duration of the friendship, rather than the age of the friends. Yes, I have, in fact, many friends in many places other than at Adventureland. I have some friends that I have known since kindergarten. I have many friends that I still communicate with, and see occasionally, whom I went to High School and College with. There are many who go back, either directly of indirectly, to my quarter-century in law enforcement. There are many more, from many contexts that have meant much to my life.

Many friends knew me "back when". Many put up with me, and saw me through my "wandering period". Indeed, many who knew me first during this time in my life may now be seeing a side of me that they have not yet seen, and are wondering what is going on. That’s OK, sometimes I wonder what is going on too. I may be off-base sometimes in my efforts, but it’s all a part of the pilgrimage that God is leading me through in my life. I heard Joel Osteen talk this morning about "being the best you" that God has designed you to be. This may not be the destination where I am residing at the present, but it is the one to which I am trying to go. Along the way, He reminds me occasionally that I am (far) less than perfect, and that I am, as the song says: "still a man in need of a savior". To all my old friends (and new), I would just say, be patient with me, as all of you have been in the past. God is not finished with any of us yet.

Having said that, let me reflect on our full-time RV lifestyle, and friendships. All of us have probably noticed that as we have followed this "road", we have had to leave behind many of our old friends, and have had to endure the changes in our relationships that come from leaving our residence in our "home" communities, and yielding to the call of the open road. When we follow new dreams, we leave old dreams, and often, unfortunately, old friends behind. I am continually surprised, although I shouldn’t be, that I can go back to those old friends when the opportunity occasionally presents itself, and virtually take up where I left off. It is true, as the scripture above tells us, that "A friend is always loyal"

I am sure that one of the things that I had in mind when I made that statement that got me in so much trouble, was the fact that so many of the Adventureland friends are so supportive of my writing (which I am sure that many of the other friends were unaware of before they started to read this blog). I would be remiss, however, if I did not pay a special tribute to an old friend, Mr. Charles Ziehl, who was the first person besides myself to read any of the words of "Going Forth in the Name", back when it was only the first chapter. His enthusiasm for what he was reading was the first encouragement I received, and was what convinced me to make it known among those now supportive Adventureland friends what I was doing.

So then, old friends, I thank you for your loyalty, and your part in helping shape me into who I am today, and for the important part that all of you have played, and continue to play in my life. I am sorry to those who took offense to my ill-considered remark. The nature of our relationship may have changed through diminished contact, but my warm memories of all that we have shared will last forever.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.