| | I haven't had much time to write as of late - a little busy taking care of a baby girl. But, I thought this deserved a post.
This past week, my youth pastor passed away. His name was Dan King and he was a great man. As I spent time reminiscing with my best friend, I realized just how special he was. Dan was a volunteer youth pastor - he had a full time job. But you know, growing up, I never really thought about that. Dan never brought the stress of his job to youth group. He was just present with us, loving on us, doing what he did best. I always knew that if I needed Dan, he would be there for me. I knew that if I had any questions, he would answer them. I knew that if I pushed his buttons the right way, I could make him angry - but in a joking way. He was fun to be around.
Dan was a big reason why I went into ministry. He taught me a lot about the Bible. He taught me what it meant to be a Christian. He was the first person to teach me about the Methodist Church.
When I was a senior in high school, Dan was diagnosed with leukemia. Fortunately, he was able to get a bone marrow transplant from his sister. For a while, it seemed like he would recover. Unfortunately, he developed graft-host disease, meaning his body was fighting against the new marrow. Dan never fully recovered, and in the past few months, he has been at Barnes. This week, he was finally able to leave his aching body and return home.
I learned a lot from Dan. I love him dearly. I use a lot of the things he taught me with my youth. My favorite thing to use? Well, whenever we were on trip, we would ask how much further we had to go. Dan always responded "10 minutes." Always. I didn't matter if we had 10 hours left or 2 minutes. I use it with my kids and it infuriates them. I smile a secret smile and remember what it was like to be in their shoes.
I will be giving a eulogy at Dan's funeral on Sunday. How could I ever sum up the life of such a great man in 5 minutes. It's just not possible. But, I will do my best to pay homage to this man that gave so much of himself away and served Christ in all that he did.
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| | Posted 6/12/2009 7:19 PM - 12 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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