Old Friends in New Places

I have heard tale after tale of loneliness from those who have picked up roots and relocated their families. With two fantastic, supportive, and giving families and a Gospel-minded church family just down the street from us in Florida, we weren’t in a hurry to move away. As we were reminded in church this week, the people of God must remember and share - time and time again - stories of God’s faithfulness. Our story of moving to Texas is only unravelling, but even so, the evidences of God’s penmanship are indisputable.

In our short time here, we have already been blessed by incredible friendships. In addition to meeting wonderful new folks, we are thrilled the have some of our oldest and dearest friends nearby. My best friend, Tali, is in the mid-cities area visiting her husband’s family this summer. She and Garrett helped us unload the moving truck! While we spent many formative years together, our time in the same city has grown more and more scarce over the last few years. What a treasure it is to have some face-to-face time with her before she returns to the northwest, especially during this season of transition. She gets me. And she’s only a half hour away.

Then there’s Snyder. Talk about faithful buddy. He has been friend to Tyler (and me!) for many years and stood with our bridal party. Typically he is traveling the world or pursuing higher education across the U.S.; on the rare occasions he was back in Florida, we managed to grab quality time with him. As it is, he is currently attending seminary, only a few miles from us! One of our new favorite “traditions” (meaning we’ve done it twice now) is Friday night strategy games at his apartment. It is a blast! He has included us in his world since we arrived: on move-in day he brought along two of his best friends to help. They are becoming our friends, too! This past Sunday we had the privilege of attending church all together and enjoying good food and conversation.

Our sweet, longtime friend, Hannah, is also in the area. We snagged some time with her at game night last week before she drove back to Florida for the summer. Looking forward to seeing more of her in the coming months, too!

These are love notes from our Heavenly Father. He definitely didn’t have to arrange these “coincidences.” While new friends and old friends in new places cannot replace our everyday friendships in Florida, they are gifts for which we give thanks!