A group of friends are gathering 15 time zones away. I may physically be in Singapore but my heart is with them. They are meeting where I last met them. Looking through time, I can imagine them around the pool in the fading sun and the summer smells of Napa Valley’s vineyards. I remember times we shared individually and collectively.
There are many triggers and hooks into events that I thought were forgotten. As I reflected over the best sports picture of 1971, I see where I was standing when the picture was taken. In my mind, I can feel the grass and sun bearing down on my back and others around me. As I step into the moment, I drift forward and back in time – the conversation with Bill and sprints earlier that day, the conversation with a group of girls later as we looked for shelter.
I am thankful for the links that take me to places I often do not remember. With each, I find a door that leads me to thanksgiving, learnings, and hope. To each that gifts me with the key to a door, thank-you. To any that see the door through a veil of hurt or anger, my prayer is for healing and forgiveness.
In walking through the rediscovered doors, I want to offer my belated appreciation for the relationships then, your patience and humor, and friendship now. We have walked and broken bread together. We struggled to be first in line as often as we lingered, reluctant to leave. We cried and celebrated. We became aware, and ultimately we grew.
In going by the old location, retracing our steps down Thomson Road, Balestier, and on to Serangoon Road and Little India, I realize that the connections then and now remain. As I remember, I repeat a psalm of thanksgiving on behalf of the faces I see and wish I could see; “Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done!” (Psalm 105.1) May each know the Divine embrace that holds us together.
