My good friend, Todd Johnson, sent this to me and others…it is profound and moved me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am…!!!
Tonight, I said good-bye to a dear college friend who passed away at 9:00 p.m. EST in Michigan after a long struggle with cancer. Rod and I played guitars and sang together in the local pubs during college for extra cash and girls. We were so close, that sometimes we even chased the same girls. He and I parted ways after school, but we’d occasionally touch base, he with a son and daughter and loving wife in Michigan, me in DC and then here in California. He was active in his church, he had a strong community of friends who loved him dearly and he will be sorely missed.
As I said goodnight to Lil and the girls tonight and they headed off to bed, I was reminded of an e-mail I received recently from one of the guys in my small group. It contained the following apocryphal story:
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Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, ‘I love you, and I pray you enough.’
The daughter replied, ‘Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too, Mom.’
They kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’
‘Yes, I have,’ I replied. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’
‘Well…I’m not as young as I once was, she lives so far away and has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is – her next trip back will be for my funeral,’ she said.
‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you
