Pen Pals: a reunion
I had lunch with an old friend last week. Ann and I go WAY back to when we were little girls of maybe eight or ten. My family’s former pastor and his wife had moved to the Norman, Arkansas area, and were involved with a mission there.
Rev. Ellis Turner and his wife, Viola, helped set up a pen pal program, matching the kids in our little country church in Kansas with kids involved in their church and the mission in Norman. Ann and I were matched and we quickly became fast friends exchanging long letters and class photos. My sister, Vicky, was matched with Ann’s sister Faye, and they were pen pals for many years too. As children, we got to meet Ann and Faye and their family several times when we traveled to Arkansas to visit the Turners and help at the mission. I remember how sweet Ann’s parents were and how much Rev. and Mrs. Turner admired them.
Meeting each other sealed our friendship, and Ann and I continued to write until we were both young married women. Our children came along and we eventually lost touch, but I thought of Ann often over the years and wondered how she was doing.
In 2003, Vicky surprised their family with a visit to Ann and Faye’s parents’ house when she was visiting Arkansas. Ann happened to be at her parents’ house and they all had a good visit and even called Faye so they could talk. (Ann and Faye married brothers so they still have the same last name!)
Then a few years ago, Vicky found Faye, and then Ann, on Facebook and we all joyfully reconnected. We had large families in common, and we discovered that like my family, who lost my sister in a car accident, Ann and Faye had lost their brother, Tommy, the same way.
Fast forward to last week when Ken and I were driving through Arkansas on our way home to Missouri from a visit with our son and his family in Texas. Ken always likes to take the scenic backroads and it wasn’t long before I realized the scenery was looking very familiar. We were on the Talimena Scenic Byway winding through the Ouachita National Forest. Suddenly it was as if I was a little girl again, riding through that pretty part of the country on my way to see Ann!
And I was! I knew Ann had moved away from Norman when she married, but I wondered if maybe her new town was on our route. I looked it up and discovered it was only a little off the beaten path. I messaged her and we arranged to meet with her and her husband at a favorite restaurant of theirs, Jamie’s.
When we got out of our cars, it was as if we were little girls again! Never mind the pandemic, we simply had to share a quick hug! It was so wonderful to spend time with my childhood long-distance friend, the one I’d shared so many secrets with growing up, through our letters. I’d worried a little bit that we wouldn’t have anything to talk about after almost half a century being out of touch! But it was as if no time had passed. Well, except that this time, instead of talking about boyfriends and school, we were comparing notes about our grandchildren!
Ken and Ann’s husband, Everett, teased us that we might never stop talking, but the two of them had a good visit too. We’ve both had long, happy marriages and we’re all still walking close with the Lord.
There’s a lot of truth to the old saying: Make new friends, but keep the old… One is silver and the other gold. That is certainly true of my friendship with Ann. It is gold! I’m so glad the Lord gave us another chance to meet face to face. What a blessing.
Have you ever had a pen pal? Have you kept in touch? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below!
