Connection

Friday in the First Week of Lent

The Holy One put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God;

many shall see, and stand in awe,

and put their trust in God.

Psalm 40:3

The drive takes me along winding roads, through winter-bare forests, across a river and into another state. I arrive to find my friend already waiting for me for our long- anticipated lunch. It has been five years.

Five years along winding roads, landscapes that often seemed winter-bare, across a pandemic and into this new time, this renewed way of being.

Our friendship has weathered this time, as have we. Older. More seasoned. Strengthened by mutual support and respect. Still sustained by a faith in God’s goodness. A faith that is the root of our connection, that grafts us to the tree of life, that calls us to flourish.