We met in RCIA thirteen years ago. The two strangers finding our way into faith, not knowing we were also finding our way into something else entirely. Jo was our facilitator to Em and me.
Life hasn’t been gentle to any of us since. There have been seasons of heartbreak, decisions we second-guessed, days we didn’t think we’d get through. But somehow, we always found our way back to the same table.
Last Saturday, it was a small gathering just the three of us again. Nothing fancy. Just bubble tea, comfort food, old stories, new hobbies and the kind of laughter that doesn’t ask permission to show up, even on hard days. We talked about our struggles the way old friends do , without needing to explain the backstory, because we already know it. And in between the heavy things, there was still so much joy to have one another. That’s the part I didn’t expect thirteen years ago that friendship could hold both the sorrow and the laughter in the same breath, and somehow make both feel lighter.
I think that’s the real gift from God. Not that life got easier, but that we never had to carry it alone. We have one another to share with during good and bad days.
To Jo and Em: “Thank you for staying at the table all these years.”