Saying goodbye to a friend

The day before Thanksgiving, I received a phone call from my mother-in-law. One of the elders of our church passed away in his sleep. He was not an old man and he wasn't even sick, so we were all shocked and saddened by this sudden loss of our dear friend.

I knew this man from the church, but also saw him elsewhere upon occasion. I would have a hard time finding a better man or more faithful Christian. He and his wife had a son, who is only a year older than my own, so often times when I would run into Al, our discussions would lead to the greatest source of his pride - his son, Alex. That man just beamed when he spoke of his only child, who is in an honors program at a local university. We used to chat about the trials and tribulations of raising boys, and I have to admit I was a bit jealous over the fact that I seemed to have a few more trials in that area then he did.

The other thing I remembered most about Al was his teaching from the pulpit on the Book of Revelation. This part of the Bible is one which I also take a keen interest in and is most likely why I enjoyed The Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye so much. Al always ended his teaching with the same message and it will forever be part of my memories of him. He told us not to wait to accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour. We know we are living in the end times, but none of us knows when Jesus will come again. It could be today; it could be tomorrow. But whatever we did with our faith, Al hoped we wouldn't wait so long that it was too late to stand with Christ.

I shared my memories of Al at his memorial service yesterday. I feel so blessed to have known him. My life has forever been changed through his words of wisdom, and I know I will see him again one day - and for that I am truly thankful.