loss of a new friend

i was driving to our men's gathering this morning when the dj's on the radio were making fun of a baptist minister who died sunday while doing a baptism. my first reaction was, "man, how tasteless of them for making fun of this" and i drove to the meeting.

when i left the meeting, i came home to "read the news" - life on a laptop is easy if the place you eat at has wifi - and this one did not. when i got home, i found out that the minister who died was a new friend, someone i just started to get to know and someone i respected deeply - kyle lake over at ubc waco. kyle and i just started to get to know each other, via email, and i have to say, i am shocked - and not sure how to process this [we are not old enough to die]. i feel empty that i will miss developing a deeper friendship with a man of God who was reaching past the "norm" and into the heart of God.

it was just a few weeks back that kyle emailed me and asked if i would review his new book, [re]discovering prayer, and at first i was not hot on it - because reviews always seem like judging - but there was something in his request that made me say yes, so he had a copy sent to my house; i was very impressed - we started to email each other over these past weeks and we developed a "standing invite" to each other - if i was even in his area, or if he was in my area, we would hook-up and just spend time sharing and getting to know each other deeper.

i was impressed by kyle's love of his family, the love of his church family and the love he had for his God. his wife jen, his daughter and twin sons will be in my prayers. i am comforted in knowing that kyle IS with our Lord. his faith was secure, firm and solid - he impressed me, and that is something not many "in the church" can do.

kyle, you will be missed - but you will not be forgotten