Dear Friends,
As most of you know I love country music, the classic kind from the
50’s through the mid 90’s. One of the great singers of that era was Tanya
Tucker, (Delta Dawn and A Sparrow in a Hurricane), and at 61 she is still
singing, and yesterday I heard one of her best recordings ever, "Bring Me
Flowers Now."
The lyrics made me think of a message I heard a number of years
reminding me to never to be a “Tombstone Encourager,” the kind of person who
never gets to say what he/she would like to say to a friend.
In my first church there was a song we used to sing. I still remember
the lyrics: “Tell them now before there just a memory. Tell them now
before it’s too late. Hold them, love them, laugh and cry with them. Tell then
now before they’re just a memory.”
Those lyrics came to mind once again as I listened to Tanya Tucker’s song. And as I thought about their meaning, I remembered several instances in my life when I waited too long to tell a friend how much I loved and missed them. Sadly, it often takes a tombstone to remind us of unspoken words, or unseen actions we wished we had said or done.
" Bring my flowers now, while I’m livin’
I won’t need your love when I’m gone
Don’t spend time, tears, or money
On my old breathless body
If
your heart is in them flowers, bring ‘em on.
As I sat at my desk yesterday beholding the carpet of white that
covered our front lawn, I took a few moments to quietly reflect on the
countless friends Jean and I have stored away in our
“Friendship Treasury Bank. I thought of Syracuse, NY, Philadelphia, Pa.
Greenville, Pa, Red Bank, N.J, Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Old Bridge, N.J and now
Middletown, N.Y, stops along the path of ministry, where friendships were
forged that have lasted a lifetime.
Just two nights ago, I picked up the phone and was able to talk
with one of those “forever friends” I made in Greenville, Pa, the third church
I pastored. She and her husband and three children were all Covid positive. Her
husband was in a hospital two hours away and fighting for his life and one of
her son’s had just lost his father in law to Covid. It had been over 30 years
since I last talked with the family, but it seemed like it was only
yesterday.
That’s so true of friendship. Time never erases their memory.
In his travels the Apostle Paul made many treasured friends who
blessed and touched his life. I took a few minutes to reacquaint myself with
them as I read Romans 16: 3-5; 2 Corinthians 2:12-13; Philippians 2:25;
Colossians 4:7; and 2 Timothy 1:2-4.
And having listened to the words of Tanya and read the words of
Paul, I realized I needed to get busy and call some of those friends and
let them know how much they’ve meant to me. And maybe you have a few of them as
well, friends who would be encouraged to hear your voice and know you’re
thinking of them.
That, my friend, is your weekend assignment, so please pick up the
phone and get started.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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