The Way We Were / Reunions and reconnecting with old friends

...Though I know  I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them...

All My Life sung by Judy Collins

Even just hearing the name of a cherished friend can warm my heart.  Old memories...fun times...few responsibilities...no wrinkles...some foolishness...all the time in the world. My 40th high school reunion was a few weeks ago and all of a sudden there are FB friend requests from many from my teenage and college years; several I have declined, I might add.  We've all grown older, added a few pounds and maybe a bit of gray hair.  Hopefully we are wiser, too. 

With the internet --Facebook, FaceTime, Skype --relationships can resume out of the blue and seem to pick right back  up where they left off... even though many years have passed. Usually that's a good thing, sometimes a yellow light should be flashing. Particularly when those reconnecting were more than "just friends".    What starts innocently as "friending" can  stir up familiar emotions on both sides of the computer screen.  Add  in spouses and children, even grown ones, and it can  also lead to hurt feelings or strife in the home. 

Relationships in our younger days seem almost perfect in our memories and can be a mental escape  from real life  if dwelled upon. But they were during a carefree time without the life lessons learned from long marriages, paying bills, raising children, struggling in careers or dealing with long-term illness.  Lyrics from Streisand's The Way We Were come to mind... ...has time rewritten every line?  Growing up comes in many forms.

It's fun to keep in touch. but not to dwell on  past times together or ponder "what if?".    Point each other back to where you are now and how God has blessed you both. What is in the past will always  be and cannot be changed... a fond memory of what WAS...not what IS.  All things work together for good to those who are called...[Romans 8:28]--old relationships and reconnections as well.  Be kind, but wise, in your behavior and your words, spoken or written.   Guard your heart with all diligence [Proverbs 4:23].

Acknowledge what was, clear the air and live in what is...