Friends give you total freedom to be yourself. These three amigos took their shirts off and were pretending they were on a cruise. True friends are a gift. I also believe friendships are no accident even when you meet under the most coincidental situations.
This morning we are going to share four unique stories of friendships and how I feel blessed to be part of them.
When our kids were young we would always take a break from school and go to the Farming Power Show together. Our day would usually include dinner at Perkins.
Well that tradition has continued and I feel blessed to take as many grandkids as are able to go. Ethan, Elliot, Rachel, Zach, Ezra, John, Gideon, and myself walked around together. Cody, Elijah, and Anton were also there and walked around with their Dads. I'm thankful for the unique friendships with grandchildren.
When we were finished with the show and were walking to our street parking spot hoping for no parking ticket I mentioned I could sure use a cup of coffee. The grandkids said there was a coffee shop on the east side of Des Moines we could just drive-thru. We did just that. Seven of the eight orders looked more like an ice cream desert than a cup of coffee and it cost more than lunch however I wouldn't have traded that cup of coffee for anything.
There have been a number of farm auctions this year and thanks to modern communications they are all on-line meaning a person can watch the sale and bid from the comfort of their office. Earlier this winter we bought a Peterbilt semi tractor on-line and picked it up in northern South Dakota.
We've been needing an eight row cornhead for our smaller combine that the grandkids and I use. Since the kids are better at computers than I am Karl bid and successfully purchased a cornhead on a sale about an hour east of St. Louis in Vandalia, Ill.
I called the Sullivan family who were the auctioneers and asked for the owners phone number. By the way, Don Sullivan, who is no longer living and his wife had eleven children. Their kids and maybe even grandkids form the family auction company today. Anyway back to my story. Dan, the previous owner of this cornhead and I immediately made a connection and hit it off when I called to ask for directions. We talked about grandkids, son-in-laws, and our mutual faith. Dan and his wife even talked about a family retreat at our cabin. I hope it happens. Dan is a pastor of a church in a neighboring town.
After a busy week with grandkids, farm visitors, and meetings I asked Jan if she would like to do something on Friday. She said there was a quilt-shop-hop going on in southern Iowa so we went to Chariton, Lucas, Humeston, Leon, and Albia.
In Leon we stopped at the western store where I purchased new boots, a shirt, and a heart necklace for Jan for Valentines Day.
While on our travels we saw this truck-tor sitting along the highway. I told Jan we had to stop and I wouldn't be long. I lied. I met Lanny and his son Phillip. I asked them where they got their idea to build this. Lanny said his Grandfather saw one in a Farm Show magazine 40 years ago and had to build one. What a small world.
Forty years ago Harold, the editor of Farm Show magazine, came to our farm and asked if he could feature the Hybrid I had rebuilt using the rearend from my father-in-laws 1950s model. Harold had seen our version of a truck-tor in an Associated Press picture taken at the State Fair in 1977. Lanny and I totally enjoyed talking about the old days when he as well as my kids used to drive this thing to school and get in trouble. We have been texting since. We both have a renewed desire to get the old girls running again.
Finally as Jan and I were leaving Cayman island a couple of weeks ago Jan mentioned she would like to make a quick stop at the grocery store and bring some spices home. Well it wasn't a quick stop. At the spice isle we ran into Dave and started a casual visit. He asked about our visit and family and we asked about his. He said he and his wife Carol were on the island for back disc replacement surgery. That is a successful surgery that is instead of spinal fusion and is not approved yet in the USA. We shared that we have a son struggling with a ruptured disc this winter. Dave mentioned Carol's doctor started doing these replacements in South Africa in 2004 and has been doing them ever since. Her doctor lives in the same town as they do, Chattanooga, Tenn. However since this surgery is unapproved in the USA it's done on the island. Dave and Carol are now friends with us on facebook and I have since visited with Carol about the success of her surgery.
Friendships old and new are a gift from God. We were created to be relational.
I also believe meeting folks doesn't just happen by chance. You never can tell what a smile and a hello can lead to. Be a friend this week and be the start of a miracle. See ya next week.
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