Have you ever had someone suddenly appear from your past? Well, a couple of weeks before Christmas, that happened to me.

I was riding Sparky through the mall, when I heard this voice say, “Hey, aren’t you Mark’s father?” I cheerfully acknowledged that I was and am! The young man behind the counter of the vanity license plate kiosk, explained that he had grown up with Mark, attended the same youth group together and been to our home.

It took a bit to place his face, but I finally managed to figure it out. Gimme a break – it had been 17 years or so since I’d seen him. Things were a little slow behind the counter, so we visited for a while. I stopped by several more times in the ensuing weeks. We ultimately talked about getting together.

He was never my friend, but he was my son’s friend. Now it looked like we were developing a friendship. I remember thinking that Dean was a fine young man.

He had a deep love for motorcycles. Although I haven’t owned a motorcycle for years, there was a time when I put hundreds of thousands of miles on bikes. He was the father of three young children. I am the father of three kids. He was a youth pastor at a local church. I’d been a youth pastor at one time. It seemed that we had a lot in common in spite of our age difference. Of course, I’m still a young squirt way down deep inside. (grin)

After Christmas, things settled down. However, I came down with the dreaded, hideous, horrific Florida Flu bug. Just now recovering. For whatever reason, Dean and I never hooked up.

My ears always pick up when I hear about a motorcycle accident. A bad accident is the reason I gave up motorcycles! When one flops 171 feet up the road like a dead carp, it changes a person’s perspective a little! (grin)

Well, we lost a middle-aged rider last week. I didn’t know him, but still grieved in a certain way. It wasn’t his fault, but that doesn’t matter much if you’re dead, right? Then, the very next day, I heard about a young father of three who’d been killed. A car pulled out in front of him. He laid his bike down, without a lot of injury. However, when he was picking his bike up, another car hit him and took his life.

I again felt that sense of twinge inside and grieved. A couple of days later, a dear friend called and told me the name of the young man. You guessed it. He was my “in the process, maybe going to be one of my new good friends”. I can’t adequately describe how I felt.

I thought about his wife and three children. He was greatly loved by the people in his congregation and his friends. His reputation was impeccable. He was one of the friendliest people I’d come across in a long time. My maybe new, good friend gone – just like that! Thirty-two years old!

I realize that I’ll just have to deal with the sense of loss about what might have been. I know I’ll be much in prayer for his family and children.

Oh, almost forgot. One of the people who shared at his funeral service explained his accidental death this way: God was through with him here and needed him in Heaven. When my first wife died (at the age of 39), I heard just about every explanation for her death. I didn’t have enough faith. I had a little plaster owl in my house and that was an evil thing. God needed another flower in His garden!

I have a real problem with the view expressed at his funeral. I realize it’s a way to try to make the grieving family feel better. After all, when we invoke God’s initiation or sanction, we invite acceptance from those to whom we’re speaking. Ultimately, we do accept, even though we may not understand, because we trust the One who does understand. I’m not at all sure what the real answer is to the “why” question. I’m still searching and formulating my view, I guess. I do know this for sure: after more than 21 years, I still can’t honestly see any reason for the death of our three teenagers’ Mom. We learned to cope. We healed. But understanding “why”? Not yet.

Y’all feedback such neat and interesting responses to my “Inside Out” pieces. Please, this time for sure, if you’ve never responded before, let me know what you think. What Life Lessons come to your mind?  Use the “Leave a Reply” box below!  God’s best and my thanks!

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