Good Friends Never Leave

The death of good friends is a tough time. It brings to mind all that you have done and also all the things you wished you would have done.  During the season of Christmas, it is good to remember good friends and family members that you will miss.  This year I have had two of my good friends pass away.  Though they are not present, they are not gone.
My friend, Robert, called me twice about joining him in a Holy Land tour. He thought it was a great way to share our friendship in faith. You see we had journeyed together for quite a while. Our daughters played together when they were young.
I met Robert as he was grieving from the fall of his first marriage. He was a romantic at heart. Romantics usually are not very good in relationships though. The romance gets in the way.
He came to be a part of the Singles group at the church I was serving. The group was just starting. One of the pieces of advice I give to persons ending a marriage relationship is to date as many different people as you can as you recover. It will teach you much about yourself. Go out with people that you never would have dreamed going out with. Ask people out who you would never have had the courage to ask before. Robert took it as a challenge. We laughed about this. You see, Robert asked every woman who came to the singles group out on a date. And admittedly, he learned much. Robert loved to learn, even through the difficult times.
So the romantic fell in love—twice. He fell in love with God first and another woman second. I performed his second marriage service. His second marriage failed but his new first love did not.
His love affair with God led him to Cursillo—a retreat that changed his life. Robert invited so many folks to be a part of that experience. He helped create a New Orleans group of people whose lives have been changed. He fell in love with teaching youth. Robert became a part of a youth movement called The Happening. Through the Happening, God has given more joy to youth than you can imagine. This love affair with God opened Robert's live to teaching the Bible. For years, he led youth Bible studies searching for the "AHA!" moment of God illumination and inspiration.
So Robert took a group of Christian disciples to the Holy Land—and died leading people closer to Jesus.
When I learned of Robert's death, I was making plans. The message had gone out that there would be a need to have persons who might travel to the Holy Land to care for him if he recovered. I had figured out that I could leave Christmas day and my schedule would allow me to be with Robert until January 4^th. So I called to put my name on the calendar and was met with the news that it would not be necessary.
As we celebrated Robert's life, I laughed and then I cried. I cried some more and then I laughed. It is the cycle of grief that we all have in some way or another. As I celebrate this season of Christ coming to the world, I remember the sound of Robert's motorcycle coming towards the house for a visit. Then I remember watching him ride away.
Good friends do that—they come and go. But they are never gone.
Pray for me as I pray for you!