Saying good-bye

A friend of mine passed away today.

John Chandler, an older man in my church and a fellow choir member, passed away after a battle with cancer this morning. I miss him already. I hate the fact that I probably won’t be able to get back from Missouri for the funeral. I feel for his widow, Sue.

John was old enough to be my grandfather, but he was my friend. The man could TALK and I used to sometimes avoid him when I was in a hurry so I wouldn’t get pulled into a 30 minute long conversation. But John thought a lot of me and I returned the sentiment. Used to, when I lived off Edmonson Pike, I’d stop into the Starbucks at Nippers Corner after a bad day. He always came in around 4 p.m., ordered a coffee, and drank half of it (it was the grande one). Then, as he said, he took the rest home to “his bride.” They’d been married for 40-plus years at least, but she was still his bride. He’d sit down and talk with me, encourage me, talk about his dreams for the church and how people could use talents they had (writing, editing, etc.) to build up the body of Christ. This is a man who never stopped learning, bought InDesign and InCopy for his home computer and was teaching himself how to use them. And he had to be in his 60s or 70s at the time.

I loved John because he was kind and geniune. And I miss his smile, the way he said my name, and his booming bass voice in the choir.

Sorry for the downer post, but it’s what’s on my mind right now. Admist all my family’s celebration and wonder at Christmas and the new life we’ve welcomed this year, John’s family is mourning the loss of a beloved member. Keep them in your prayers this Christmas. 🙂

Much love to you all! I’ll try to post something about the absurdity that is sure to happen during the Crow Christmas Celebration!