bernie died a year ago. i almost can’t believe it still. he was a friend from college, a good friend, one of those friends you always mean to call because you REALLY want to stay in touch, but life just keeps getting in the way. he was one of those people who made a mark on you. whether it was for his peculiar tendencies, or for his great love of certain things in life, or for just being a guy from northern cal who declared to everyone he knew that he was doing #2 during the great earthquake in san francisco.
he was a friend who shook his head at me for my craziness and i did the same for his. he was the only guy i knew (at that point) who color coded his closet. who named all of his stuffed animals on his bed and gave them personalities. who challenged anyone to be as sappy as him. who made me sappy mixes to prove how sappy he truly was. who knew how to play bball and pretty much knew it. who always ALWAYS had his door open when you just wanted to hang… but everyone knew that bernie didn’t do all-nighters. who found Jesus in college, and never let Him go. who i once prayed for to know Jesus, but now pray that i would know Jesus as bernie knows Him…
he was a friend who died a year ago today. i think about his wife. i think about friends who were near and dear to him and feel like i have no right to feel any grief or pain. because really, i wasn’t around the last few years of his life… but i am so SO glad i knew him. i’m so glad that even for a few years, i called him a good, close friend. that i was close enough for him to make fun of me and vice versa… that eventually we were able to call each other brother and sister in Christ.
bernie, i’m filled with grief today knowing you haven’t been here to enjoy this earth. but at the same time, i am filled with joy knowing that you’re free to dance up in heaven, your nkotb and other late 90s dance moves, free of pain, doctors and hospitals, free of struggles, sins… free to rejoice in the presence of God. He knew when he created you that your time here on earth would be short. i just wish i had one more day with you to let you know how much you meant. but we’ll meet again, and till then, i’ll think of you often and i’ll think well of you. because really… you lived it bernie. you really did.
