IN HONOR OF GLENN
One of my best friends passed away this week. My body and mind are numb with emotion. In honor of my friend, I am posting a copy of the remarks I made at the funeral this morning.
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One of the first things my wife said earlier this week when I told her the terrible news was to say, “Well, Jesus must have really wanted him.” And while I have never doubted that fact and have found comfort in that good news, I must admit that my first response to my wife’s comments was to think, “Well, Jesus might want him but I need him.” I miss my friend Glenn.
The best way to describe what Glenn meant to me is to say that he was my emergency contact. There is a card in my wallet that says, “If found, and I am in any kind of trouble, call Glenn.” And in fact, I myself called on Glenn a lot when I was in trouble. Many of you know that my wife had some significant medical issues in the recent past. There was a time when I feared I might lose her, and I called on Glenn a lot during that time. He was always there, to pray and to listen and sometimes what I needed most was a hug and he would hug me. Once, I was out of town on business, and Amy needed to go to the ER. She knew she could call on Glenn. Glenn took her to the ER and sat with her to make sure she was OK, and then he called me to make sure I was OK. That’s the kind of friend Glenn was to me.
I think I can speak for everyone here when I say I feel I have lost a big part of my life with Glenn’s passing. This week, my life has felt emptier because I am missing my friend. What I remind myself of, and I want to remind all of you too, is that while we might feel empty today, because we have known Glenn our lives are fuller. And isn’t that the mark of a good man, that he makes the lives of others fuller? Glenn was a good man, and my life, all of our lives, are fuller for it.
At the viewing, I slipped an envelope into the casket. In it was a scorecard of fifteen sins we used to work through when we met weekly to pray. As accountability partners, we would take turns asking each other if we had engaged in any of these fifteen sins during the previous week. We met like this weekly for over five years. We used to joke that in heaven, we would continue to meet for accountability, only neither of us would have anything to confess; we’d all go oh-fer-fifteen. So in honor of Glenn, I put in his casket a scorecard of sins that is completely blank. As long as I’m alive, my scorecard will continue to have sins all over it. But for the rest of eternity, Glenn will always go oh-fer-fifteen.
One of my best friends passed away this week. My body and mind are numb with emotion. In honor of my friend, I am posting a copy of the remarks I made at the funeral this morning.
***
One of the first things my wife said earlier this week when I told her the terrible news was to say, “Well, Jesus must have really wanted him.” And while I have never doubted that fact and have found comfort in that good news, I must admit that my first response to my wife’s comments was to think, “Well, Jesus might want him but I need him.” I miss my friend Glenn.
The best way to describe what Glenn meant to me is to say that he was my emergency contact. There is a card in my wallet that says, “If found, and I am in any kind of trouble, call Glenn.” And in fact, I myself called on Glenn a lot when I was in trouble. Many of you know that my wife had some significant medical issues in the recent past. There was a time when I feared I might lose her, and I called on Glenn a lot during that time. He was always there, to pray and to listen and sometimes what I needed most was a hug and he would hug me. Once, I was out of town on business, and Amy needed to go to the ER. She knew she could call on Glenn. Glenn took her to the ER and sat with her to make sure she was OK, and then he called me to make sure I was OK. That’s the kind of friend Glenn was to me.
I think I can speak for everyone here when I say I feel I have lost a big part of my life with Glenn’s passing. This week, my life has felt emptier because I am missing my friend. What I remind myself of, and I want to remind all of you too, is that while we might feel empty today, because we have known Glenn our lives are fuller. And isn’t that the mark of a good man, that he makes the lives of others fuller? Glenn was a good man, and my life, all of our lives, are fuller for it.
At the viewing, I slipped an envelope into the casket. In it was a scorecard of fifteen sins we used to work through when we met weekly to pray. As accountability partners, we would take turns asking each other if we had engaged in any of these fifteen sins during the previous week. We met like this weekly for over five years. We used to joke that in heaven, we would continue to meet for accountability, only neither of us would have anything to confess; we’d all go oh-fer-fifteen. So in honor of Glenn, I put in his casket a scorecard of sins that is completely blank. As long as I’m alive, my scorecard will continue to have sins all over it. But for the rest of eternity, Glenn will always go oh-fer-fifteen.
Comments
Thanks, Lee, for sharing that. For those of us who didn't make it to the funeral, this was very helpful, and you have truly honored Glenn, and you honor our Lord of magnificent mercy. I pray peace for you, and the rest of you out there who are feeling this loss most keenly. May you experience even a small measure of the peace that Glenn now has. Heck, I want that for me, too!