Family Friday #6 Friends along the way

We asked several people to be in our wedding and most said yes although some said no for a variety of reasons. Some of the people who stood up for us in our wedding party are not part of my (our) life anymore and some are. Of course we never would have imagined how those relationships would change but that is how life is! It is full of unexpected surprises, relationships and seemingly random events.. Some happy and some sad. And yet, with a few exceptions the people I asked to be in my wedding I would ask again!

Either way I wanted to point out the importance of having and being a good friend. My life is better because of the people I call friends and they are really more than that.  I cannot over-estimate the value of relationship.  Jim had good friends. I have good friends. And we had good friends together as a couple. When we were first married we worked hard to keep our lifelong and college friends but we also developed new friends both in our adult fellowship and on the staff at church.

At family camp the first year we were married we made a commitment to Steve and Janis we would always get together once a year and for a long time we kept that, even when we lived far apart from each other. Another memory is when we moved to AZ and joined the young married class and had many fun memories with the Hortons, the Rodgers, the Tutens, et al. Over the years we continued to add friends and memories. Waukegan. Christ Church. Trinity. Biola. Soccer families. Jazz Choir families. On and on.

Back to our wedding. Thank you to Julie, Martha, Marji, Marianne, Stephanie, Holly, Shelley, Wil, Dennie, Steve, Ed, Chuck, Mark, John. Also grateful for Jerry M. and Harold A. who mentored and married us, Norma M. who sang, Keith W., Chris H., Jim A. and Debbies B & W. who played, Lorie W., Karen G., Cam M., Rich H. and Tom Mi. who couldn’t be there. Pam R. & Eleanor W. who did our guestbook/gifts. Our families and all those sweet colleagues and kids from the ministry.