Dear God

Dear God,

Will you take good care of my friend, Richard, cuz he went to be with you this weekend.  Lord, thank you for taking him home.  Thank you for the life he lived and all the people he told about you.

Thank you Lord for making my dad and Richard friends.  Dad doesn't have many close friends, just a handful and Richard was among one of my dad's friends.  Because of that, I also had the privilege to know this amazing man.

One summer I spent in Colorado working with his team, living there, volunteering in the inner city of Denver for this camp he started there.  It was an amazing summer.  I was screwed up, I think my parents knew it that is why the offer for me to go spend the summer at this place in Colorado.  There I got to know Richard and he just loved me, with all of my faults.  He made me want to be more like Christ.

Every person you'll meet will tell you what an amazing and generous man Richard was.  He was generous with everything.  He'd probably give you the shirt off of his back if he'd have thought it would help you.

Lord, tonight Richard is with you.  We miss him down here immensely but know that you have healed his body of cancer and he is worshipping at your throne, finally getting to go be with this Jesus who he never stopped talking about.

Richard was infectious.  His excitement for God and for the Word spread like wildfire in his life and to those who had the pleasure of knowing him.  He truly was an amazing person.

My dad and I were having lunch the other day about an hour before Richard died, talking about him, how much we didn't understand why God chose to leave him here suffering for so long.  About how there are some things in life he'll never understand.  Little did we know that Richard only had an hour or so left on this earth.  This morning I had to call my dad to tell him that his friend had died.  I cried all the way to work...and then for a couple of hours.

My heart goes out to his family for their loss but I know that despite their sorrow they too are rejoicing that Richard is finally home.

God, say Hi to Richard for me.  Tell him to save me a spot, that I'll be there when you decide.  That I can't wait to dance in a fully healed body.  To worship at my Savior's feet.  Just thinking about it makes me long for heaven.

I was a better person for knowing Richard.  He blessed my family and he blessed me, through his pain, and he glorified the Lord until the very end.  Goodbye Richard.  God please take good care of him 'cuz he's extra special.