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Then there were the Ping-Pong games at Laity Lodge in Texas. Madeleine won by intimidation, bearing down on any helpless opponent like a ship under full sail. Star-filled nights in the hill country. I wanted to title our book on friendship The Table of Friendship, celebrating Madeleine's dinner table, the Lord's table, the editorial desk, and the Pong table. Madeleine thought that sounded too much like the multiplication table, to which we were both averse. So it ended up as Friends for the Journey.

Friendships for Madeleine were not just "relationships" or networking opportunities, but companionships of heart and mind and spirit. That's what we can still celebrate today, all of us together in loving and each other, and each remembering the luminous moments with our loving, faithful friend. We've been grieving for months, years, as she was slipping from us into another sphere. Now we keep her alive in our hearts, our God-friend as she is now "knowing as she was known," by her heavenly Father.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Madeline L'Engle died Thursday, September 6, of natural causes.

Christianity Today interviewed her in 1979. Other articles include:

The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals | Madeline L'Engle and D. James Kennedy both made our list. (October 6, 2006)

Supernatural Sagas of Good and Evil | The foolish things of Madeleine L'Engle. (June 8, 1979)

Our sister publications Books & Culture, Christian History & Biography, and Re:generation have more on L'Engle and her spiritual journey.

Reviews of Luci Shaw's books and articles she wrote for Christianity Today include:

Welcoming Resurrection | A volume of new poems from Luci Shaw. (July 8, 2006)

"Ears to Hear, Eyes to See" | Luci Shaw's poetry helps us pay attention to God's world. (December 9, 2002)

Yes to Shame and Glory | Mary is a model of openness to the power of God. (December 12, 1986)

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September (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51