There is a broken rocking chair in my basement. It was the first piece of furniture John and I owned, back in 1980. It was made by the Amish and it was a generous wedding gift from my big brother. The dark walnut arms curve smoothly and I nursed my first five babies in it. There are a lot of sweet memories, rocking gently with a little one in my lap. But the cane back and seat had less staying power than the wood, so it became unusable. We moved it with us from California, hoping to get it recaned eventually. That was thirteen years ago.

The other day I was thinking about someone I haven't seen in a long time. Our friendship ended on a sour note and we never reconciled. Her name came up and my mind instantly recalled the decades old argument, which I have apparently been toting around in my head all this time. Never mind that I have evolved as a human being in the interim. She is frozen as the flawed friend with a sharp tongue. 

I read a story about a man who wanted to repair an old wrong. He had stuffed the ballot box back in seventh grade, to win the class presidency. At the time he felt clever about pulling it off, but the lack of integrity gnawed at him as loftier strains of character took root. After joining a twelve step program the directive about making amends convicted him. There seemed little chance that he could find the girl from junior high, but he decided to pray about it. He asked God for a chance to make it right, somehow.

A few weeks later he was on a business trip and sat in his assigned seat on a DC 10. A few minutes later a woman placed her suitcase in the overhead compartment and slid in beside him. She looked strangely familiar. 

He decided to introduce himself. 

"Hello, my name is Brian Anderson. Going to Dallas?" 

"Yes. Hello, I am Beth Freedman." He couldn't believe it. It was the rightful winner of the election. 

He cleared his throat and decided to jump in before he got cold feet. 

After reminding her about the incident, which she only vaguely recalled, he apologized for his deceit. She laughed, and forgave him. 

I wonder if I could repair the disagreement with my own friend. We live in different parts of the country, and I have no address. But I guess I could begin with prayer.