John D’Elia Says Goodbye to a Friend

John pastors the American Church in London.  He and I were seminary classmates.  He’s written a poignant and heartbreaking post about the death of a childhood friend.

The four of us had and have lots of other friends, but there was something special about our relationship that became even more so over the years. Once we got into our 40s we saw a new value or preciousness to the fact that we’d been together so long. It was clear we would do anything for each other, and even better, we began to go out of our way to make sure the others knew it. In the movie “Stand By Me” the narrator says: “It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like busboys in a restaurant.” In my friendships with John, Shane and Earl it was more like friends who entered into each other’s lives and then sat down and stayed for a long meal.

via An American Minister in London: Saying Goodbye to a Friend.