It just so happened that our old friends, Pat and Tammy, were in town. Well, they’re really not old at all. A better way to describe them would be “long time friends.” We’ve known them for nearly twenty years. Our kids grew up together and are still friends. We’ve been through significant moments of life together. They recently had their first grandchild so they were telling us what to expect in our new vocation as grandparents.

Pat and Tammy are the kind of friends with whom you can pick right up where you left off. You have friends like that, don’t you? I think it’s one of God’s great gifts. Old friends are the ones who really know you. They ask the probing questions that find honest answers. The have observed your history. You’ve been through good and bad together and have come out all the better for it.

Old friends are like:

• your favorite pair of jeans that you always go back to when you really want to be comfortable
• a candle that delivers a shining warm glow
• a full bank account from which you’re not afraid to make a withdrawal
• medicine that soothes a sore throat
• the sunset that brings a happy sadness
• a book that’s so good you read it more than once
• a warm sweater on a cool fall day
• your favorite chair

It’s good that there are people in life who know you and still like you. It’s good to know that friends come into our lives to stay. The love and kindness of an old (or should I say “long time”) friend is one of life’s greatest treasures.

To even steal a few minutes when long time friends come into town is worth every effort it takes. It may even be just what you need at just the moment you need it.

How would you describe an old friend?