Thanks to the Internet.
Last week, I was Googling, avoiding my required classwork and filling my time. For a long time, I have struggled with the transient nature of my life. I moved around a lot when I was younger, making friends and then losing track as we pulled up stakes and headed elsewhere. Not quite as bad as a military upbringing, but still... As a young adult, I didn't have that traditional college experience that left you with roommate stories and social connections galore. Working at GMU left me with lasting friendships, but people are starting to move on. And, although I know a great many people now, it's hard to find the time to invest in friendships with young children, especially mine. Heck, T lives only an hour away and I think it's been about a year since we have gotten together. (That's me.... I suck.)
When I was in the 9th and 10th grade, I made a great friend in a neighbor, a girl named Shannon. A wonderful girl in every way. She sang in a beautiful soprano. Her life, in my eyes, was as stable as mine was crazy. She was a devout Christian with an unshakable faith just when I was at the beginning of trying to find my own. She moved (out this way actually) - I came to visit once in 1987, but by the time I moved her, she had moved on to the midwest. We lost touched. I have long regretted it, as she was one of the most genuine people I have ever known.
I came across a listing for her on Classmates.com that included her married name. With that tidbit, I started searching and found a pastor's wife out west with the same name. I just knew - being a pastor's wife and living her faith was where I had envisioned her being in her life for so long. After a few days, I got a response.
Finding a lost friend is a great blessing and a true joy!
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