Tribute to a Friend

This morning I was reminded about a couple of my friends.

I became a Christian when I was 16 in high school. My best friend's mom had been taking her to a new church, and the pastor and his family were from England, which I thought was really cool. And my friend said that the youth group was awesome, so she convinced me to go, and I kept on going. I became good friends with the pastor's kids (Malcolm Wild of Calvary Chapel Merritt Island -- he's still the pastor there, and his children still active participants in the church). Joel was my best friend through high school and college.

This is Mary just before she passed, my friend Bev, and Joel, Malcolm's son and one of two best friends in high school.

I made so many important friends there that are still a part of my life and often in my thoughts. This is a picture of a BBQ we had at my house a few years ago. We need to do that more often.

Tracy is standing on my left. Lyndy is on my right. Joel is stooping from his 6'7" self behind me.

This morning I was reminded of a simple song my friend, Tracy Yoho, wrote a long time ago, and was made popular by another friend, Mary Barrett, an extremely talented musician who was taken from life way, way too early from ovarian cancer.

Mary was the kind of person who made you feel important from the first time you met her. She was ALWAYS smiling, even up til the very end. She always had a guitar with her, and her mind was filled with music. She was the kind of person you couldn't help but gravitate to. She was the kind of person who remembered your name from the moment she met you. She was the kind of person who was always positive and encouraging. Her life's mission was to help the hurting, and to express her joy for life through song.

She was a little older than me and my friends, but not much. I remember a retreat we went to one weekend. Two of my friends thought it would be funny if we put peanut butter on everyone's door handles. I went along with it, because it was adventure, and they were my friends, and I was just a foolish 18 or 20 year old.

Well, of course we were found out, and we sorta got in trouble, but we were well loved, and it blew over, but until it did, we found refuge in Mary's room, where she basically told us it wasn't a big deal, and that if it was fun, and not a malicious act, we shouldn't worry or regret it. Peanut butter never hurt anyone not allergic to peanuts. She said the retreat had been a little boring up until that point. She pulled out her guitar and we sang.

She never lost faith and sang and smiled til the end.

Anyway, Mary was awesome. I bet she still is, up there teaching the angels how to harmonize. :) I think this was recorded a few weeks before she died. Today, I hope it encourages some of you, like it has me over the years. I hope you will take the time to listen to this powerful song.