It’s happened to all of us. We’ve lost touch with a friend at one time or another. We grew up. We moved away. We changed jobs. We changed churches. Or we may have just drifted away. Unhappily, we might have even had a falling out.

Also, life is busy. And let’s face it, friendships take work—work that quite often we can’t find the time for. Effort that sometimes isn’t returned with equal interest.

Anyone have a friendship that needs to be reclaimed? Take a chance. Reach out. The reward may be rich and sweet. You’ll never know unless you try—take it from me. Here’s one of my stories:

Friendship Reclaimed

Second-hand news of an old friend’s distress
Heard amid a restaurant’s clamor,
Chance meeting with a friend in common
Renews the urge to reclaim the past.
The nagging questions come again
The ones I’ve brushed aside before,
Why haven’t we stayed in touch?
How could I let that friendship go?
It’s time now to take a step with bated breath
Time to build a bridge over the years
And hope my friend desires the same.
When first efforts seem to go unheard
A puzzled sadness settles in
Over something precious lost,
Until one day joy is renewed —
Familiar handwriting in the mail.
What seemed lost was not lost at all —
It just needed to be reclaimed.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

*What are some ways you might try to reclaim a friendship this week?

*I hope this encore post from April 2011 was a blessing to you today!

*The latest issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by RowdyKittens, Creative Commons License