Les Ferguson

By Les Ferguson, Jr.

Columnist

 

The story is about two guys who went to play a round of golf. When they arrived at the course, they discovered that contestants from the Miss America pageant were there. Each scheduled twosome soon learned they were being paired with a contestant, creating threesomes. 

Naturally, every contestant was stunning in her own way. 

One fellow was trying to describe this round of golf to his buddies, and one of them noted how wonderful it must have been to play with a Miss America contestant. 

With an almost violent shake of his head, the storyteller replied, “Absolutely not! Have you ever tried to play 18 holes of golf with your stomach held in?”

This past weekend, I attended my 45th class reunion in Vicksburg. We joined several other classes to tour our old high school, enjoy some barbecue, and reminisce. 

But in keeping with last week’s theme, I have a complaint — albeit a problem of my own making. 

Have you ever spent hours on end catching up with old friends you haven’t seen in decades, all while trying to keep your stomach sucked in? Welcome to my world! 

Oh, the misery and joy. 

I attended our ten-year reunion, and it was a lot of fun. Most of us hadn’t changed much from how we looked ten years earlier at our graduation. At that time, my closest friends and I were still in relatively frequent contact. We communicated, visited, and supported each other at our weddings, among other events.

But then Chuck died in a tragic water-skiing accident, and we mourned. A couple of years ago, Dave left us after a long battle with cancer. I’ve been shocked to discover how many of our classmates have journeyed to the other side. 

But it was still an absolute blast to see old friends, renew relationships, and simply be together. I would have given anything for Chuck and David to be there, but that’s life. 

As the weekend ended, I found it difficult to fully articulate what this time has meant to me. The best I can say is this: it was good for my soul. 

And it was. It reminded me once more of the great blessings that friendship brings. Those final hugs were poignant, and I look forward to the time when we can be together again.

I’ll leave you with these lyrics from Michael W. Smith and then a Proverb…

“And friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never ’cause the welcome will not end. Though it’s hard to let you go in the Father’s hands, we know that a lifetime’s not too long to live as friends.”

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