2025.01.06
Friends love all the time, and kinsfolk are born for times of trouble. ~ Proverbs 17:17 CEB
My mom and Rod’s mom became good friends shortly after the Chamberlain family moved into our neighborhood in 1968. They were both friendly extroverts and would meet frequently over a cup of tea.
When Rod and I started dating, they managed to remain good friends. There is a photo somewhere that I can’t find with Joyce and Mom pretending to be fighting over our first child, Seth, when he was about 3 months old, reminiscent of a story in the Bible in which Solomon shows his wisdom when two mothers try to claim a child as their own. Seth was blessed to be deeply loved and claimed by both of them. And they had the grace to let us parent as we saw fit.
Even after my Mom died, over 14 years ago, whenever Joyce would see me she would put her hands on my cheeks and tell me how much she missed my Mom.
Last April we visited Joyce and her husband in Mississippi. As I was getting ready to say goodbye, Joyce did just that. I told her I miss my mom too. I said that the odds were that she’d be seeing Mom before me. I asked her to give Mom a big hug from me. She nodded her agreement and affirmed it with one of her amazing hugs.
I imagine the two of them sipping cups of Constant Comment tea and cheering us on right now. Friends do love all the time, and kin, as they were by marriage, are born for times of trouble, for times such as these.
I miss you both, and know you are pulling for the family, for our nation and for the world. Thanks for your steady presence and sincere faith. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 