Reconnecting with friends

My final stop on the Seeking Balance Tour took me to London where I spent three days renewing a very important relationship in my life. I met Jim Linthicum on my first day at Wesley Seminary in Washington DC and we fast became friends. We shared common interests in rock and roll, sub-cultures, and being on the fringes of church and ministry. We may be best remembered at our seminary, if at all, for the grant proposal we wrote and secured funding for a happy hour bar ministry in Old Town Alexandria for two years. We actually got paid to drink beer and talk about life with bar patrons twice a week. Our Sunday mornings that first year of seminary usually consisted of rocking away at the Marble Bar on Franklin Street in Baltimore until 2 a.m. then grabbing a bag of Little Tavern Burgers on the way home and maybe a few hours of sleep before heading off to the little rural church Jim served where he preached sermons from his favorite rock song lyrics like "Cosmic Debris" by Frank Zappa.

Jim's parents were very generous in welcoming me into their home on many weekends and holidays as I was long way from home that first year of seminary. I remember having a problem securing a ticket at the bus station when I was about to ride the Greyhound from Baltimore to Wichita. It seems they would not take my personal check, but Jim's father very graciously came down to the bus station and paid for the ticket so I could be on my way home to get married.

Jim and I did not spend as much time together after I got married. We took a road trip to Boston that was memorable, but I started working for two congregations in DC so our Saturday night routine became more difficult and we started to drift apart. I got to visit him in Baltimore once after graduation and before he left for the UK where he works now as a chaplain at a children's hospital in London. So it had been about 28 years since we had seen one another and it was a bit of a challenge recognizing each other at Heathrow Airport.

Jim was probably the first really good friend that I ever had in my life. He is a great listener, he accepts people for who they are, he has a gentle way of suggesting different perspectives on things, to name just a few of his fine qualities. I am sure that many families have been able to better manage very difficult situations in the lives of their children due to Jim's ministry.

The past year was incredibly difficult as anyone who has gone through a divorce knows what I am talking about. Yet at times when I felt most alone and despondent I have been blessed with the presence of friends old and new. In the past year I have been able to reconnect with friends from high school, college, and my seminary roommate. I have been able to rely on the support of friends here in Kent and I had the opportunity to make several new friends on this trip around the world. I have also had the opportunity to meet and get to know someone very special with whom I have many shared interests and a desire to travel with together on this wonderful adventure of life.

So here I am at the beginning of a new year with a wealth of new experiences to draw from, a great group of friends to share with, a new perspective on the journey that lies ahead, and a renewed yet tenuous balance on the teeter-totter of life. Thanks for reading.