When Friendships Move Away

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” C.S. Lewis

Summer was coming to a close.  We had just arrived home from a massive grocery trip.  The boys and I were on a mission to unload the groceries as fast as possible.  And eat.

Not much can derail Zachary from food.  Except people.  I’m convinced that a magnetic field surrounds my social butterfly and pulls him with extreme intensity to any new face that enters his range of pull. Loaded down with bags and boxes, I heard his legs pedaling at an insane pace as I wondered why he thought he could stop helping us unload the car.  Whipping my head around to find him, I saw him pedaling and waving simultaneously up the path by our house.

Squinting to see if I could recognize the faces, I quickly realized I had never laid eyes on this family before.  Because I would have remembered.  It was 3 boys that looked the exact ages of my boys!

That’s enough to make me drop my groceries.

Before I knew what had happened, Zachary had intersected them on the path and was in full conversation.  Suddenly, the growling in my stomach disappeared as I walked the path to meet this family.

In a matter of 60 seconds flat we were all excitedly exchanging names, ages, and anything and everything we could think of.  They were new.  And had just moved into the house directly diagonal from us.

“Hi, I’m Renee.  These are my boys.  Jacob, Zachary, and Andrew.”

Excited little voices responded, “Hey, my name is Jacob too!”

“And my name is Andrew too!”

And as fast as each person could get a word in, we all discovered we shared same names, same middle names, ages, interests, toys.  You name it.

3 boys.  9, 5, 2.  Our boys were 8, 6, 3.  Their names: Jacob, Andrew, Dylan.  Our names: Jacob, Zachary, Andrew.  It was eerie.  They met on the path riding the identical bikes our boys were riding.  Within 10 minutes bonds were formed.

Their great-aunt surely thought I was crazy as I began talking  as fast as my brain was moving.  Explaining how we had been praying for friends to move in that our boys could be friends with.  We had no idea God would bring such a PERFECT match for our boys.

20 minutes later these new friends were sitting at our kitchen table eating lunch with us.  Their Jacob said as he left, “Thank you, Mrs. Robinson, for being so nice to us and letting us play with all your toys.”  He had my heart from that point forward.

I only saw a glimpse that day.  But now, one year later, it is confirmed.  God brought my boys the best friends imaginable.  My boys were given the sweet gift of friendship at a young age.

A few weeks into knowing these boys, I truly loved them.  Their Andrew sat at our dinner table and said to Zachary with a completely straight face, “You know.  It’s like we are brothers from another mother.”  Then he picked up his hot dog and continued eating.

One year later we are losing them as they move back to Kentucky to be near family.  We are heartbroken to see them go.

When God blesses us, we need to thank Him profusely and enjoy every single second of it to the fullest.  Never taking it for granted for a single second.

It hurts to say goodbye.  I was grateful to God the day He brought them into our lives.  And I remain grateful to Him today that He allowed us the time, ever so short it was, to be a part of their lives.

True friendship leaves an imprint on our hearts like a footstep on the surface of the moon.