Reconnect

I heard from an old friend a few days ago. It had been more than a decade since we had last communicated; many of those years saw moments where I looked for him, searching for clues about the life and happiness of a boy-turned-man who had helped me through difficult moments in my young adult years.

My past and present collided when his name scrolled across my screen. To reach back...to hear about his life and his children...to open myself and give light to the teenager inside me that wished she'd had another chance to say thank you...I am so grateful.

As I was driving today, I thought about the vast number of people in this world who pray for re-connections. Not just friends, but family members...children, parents, siblings. My breath caught as I thought of the families who lost loved ones during 9/11...the knowledge that earthly connections ended so suddenly caused a rush of sympathy for a type of pain I can only imagine.

Then I thought...what about our Father? He loves us so much that even the hairs on our head are numbered. (Matthew 10:30) He created us and knit us together in our mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13) Yet how many of us have chosen to deny His existence? How many of us curse His name? And how many of us, those who have acknowledged and accepted Him, let days or weeks pass without reaching out to Him?

Are we connected?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

The joy we feel when we reconnect with a friend or loved one pales in comparison to the joy God must feel when we look to Him and say, "Here I am, Lord."

Distance, time, circumstances out of our control, misunderstandings, and even death might separate us from those we love. But Jesus? "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5b)

If you need to reconnect....He's only a whisper away.