There are some people in life that just “click”. Their presence in your life reminds you that God is the orchestrator of awesome friendships. One of these types of friends is one of our oldest and dearest friends – Dennis. The Lord brought him across our path years ago, not long after we planted our church in Virginia. Soon after Dennis started attending our church he went through a painful divorce and we took him under our wing and he became a staple (if you will) at our home. He would come over just to hang out with us as he worked through all the emotions of what he was dealing with. He did holidays with us. One time we were vacationing in Western New York and I decided to stay longer with the kids so Dw asked Dennis if he would want to come to NY to pick him up?? He did. We loved showing him around our old stomping grounds before he and Dw headed back to Virginia.

Years ago when Abigail’s boyfriend broke up with her and stomped on her heart, it was Dennis who showed up with the keys to his brand spankin’ new truck. He handed the keys to her and said, “Let’s go driving.” She momentarily forgot her pain as she and Dennis drove the country roads around our home.

A few years later when Dw was away on a missions trip to a remote area and unable to be reached, Abigail was in a terrible car accident where she was attending Bible college. Unable to reach Dw I didn’t know what to do. There was a severe ice storm blanketing the state of Virginia and Abigail was 4 hours away in a hospital. I called Dennis who volunteered immediately to drive me to her.

Having moved across the country Dennis has been to visit us twice now. Of course when Dw’s dad died this past January it was Dennis who drove 11 hours to just “be there” for us. His presence was such a present.

This week Dennis came to spend five days with us. He is such a blessing. Before he came he sent me a text: “Better go buy some depends cause you know you’ll need them while I’m out there.” When we three are together we always laugh tons, we always talk and sometimes we even cry, but that’s what friends are for. Sharing life: the good, the bad and the ugly.