First day at school

Aimée came home from the first day of high school and said things will never be the same. I asked why. She said she and her close friends had all quarreled and drifted apart over the summer. When she walked into the crowed foyer of the new building, she spotted N____ standing alone against the wall. N____ gave her a look somewhere between disdain and mortification, and then looked away. Aimée did the same and moved on.

Moments later out of the general commotion her other old best friend P____ waved warmly and cried, "Hey Aimée!" But even as she said it, another arm was grabbing P____'s arm and moving her down the hall in the opposite direction. And as all that was going on, the animated face of L____ (a new friend) kept popping in and out of Aimée's field of vision from the sidelines, vying for attention. Between those head shots, Aimée could see P____, still looking over her shoulder toward her, disappearing down the hallway, and out of her life.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. … Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:1-4).