Sliding Ninas?

"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:6)

I stayed home tonight.

It never ceases to amaze me how one small choice can be so impactful. Sometimes I wish the "what ifs" of my life were being filmed so I could see where different choices would lead...à la "Sliding Frasiers." (Yes, there really was an episode based on the movie "Sliding Doors.")

If I had decided to go out tonight, I would have missed two very meaningful conversations with women who "bracket" my adult life -- my best girlfriend from college whom I met about 30 years ago, and a more recent "nearest and dearest" whom I met about 3 years ago. Interestingly, both of these women have seen me at my worst, albeit at different times and in different contexts. What a blessing to have those two seasons of life converge in one evening.

My "older" friend and I never intentionally parted ways; life intervened and our paths diverged, though the love never waned. Tonight was a reconnection of unexpected depth and excitement that we'll soon be living in the same area and have the chance to rebuild our friendship in this season of life -- as wives and mothers who have experienced some tough times on the journey and become stronger and healthier for it. My newer friend has recently moved away, but I'm moving away, too, so it's not going to matter; with cell phones and Facebook, we are sure to stay in touch; at least that's our hope and prayer. Hard to imagine not being as close as we are now. However, life could intervene and our paths might diverge and we might find ourselves reconnecting as eighty-year-old women!

If I hadn't stayed home, I wouldn't have the delight of pondering all of this. Of course it's entirely possible that something else equally delightful would have happened.

But I'll never know.