Tuesday, March 13, 2007

45 years and counting!!

Today I attended a funeral of the dad of a good friend of mine. A real good friend. I met Randy in my driveway in 1962. That is about 45 years ago. At that time, we would never have guessed that we would have continued in relationship for this long.

There were 4 of us altogether. All lived on Oak Ridge St in Richmond, VA. We called ourselves the Oak Ridge Boys. We did so much together. Good Stuff, Bad Stuff - we went through jokes together, girls together, sports together and just about anything else together.

In the early days, we did not have a spiritual life together. We were just guys trying to get all we could out of life. Then one by one we began to encounter Jesus Christ. It took along time from 1972 to about 1980. But the Lord drew each of us to himself.

Now so many years later. We all walk with Jesus, and our wives. We are in leadership in 4 different churches and many different ministries. And we seek to stand with Jesus and with each other whatever it takes. Now the next stage: We stand with each other in the dark days of dealing with the losses of our parents and the transitions of our families. Several of us are now grandparents (not me). And we are beginning to think about the next steps.

Thanks Randy & Boys - you encourage me to stand with you as you stand with Jesus.