Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


10.25.2004  

'Drew

Andrew and I now have a little bit of a tradition going. I call him Saturday, and he asks me if I'm working, and I affirm that I am. He then tells me he'll try to call back later, and then only ends up calling back one fourth of the time. I'll call again Sunday, and either leave him a message or manage to catch him in the midst of eating...that's my boy! (Sometimes, the meal is free...even better! He makes me so proud!) Anyway, he calls back late Sunday night/early Monday morning (really early Monday morning for him, sometimes), and we catch up while I finish up the dregs of my second twelve-hour shift in thirty-six hours. Life is good like that. The friends I'm closest to will always be the friends I'm closest to. He and Brian have both been in a different country, and we've managed to keep in close contact. I've come into what seems another country (Kentucky/Indiana), and we've managed to become closer than ever. When Andrew visited for three weeks in January, those weeks provided some of the most memorable moments of our not-as-young-as-we-used-to-be lives.



It seemed like once upon a time, we would conquer the world together. We were in Youth Ministry; what could be more grand? We were young, we had tans, and we were aspiring Bachelors to the Rapture! Now we're...well...at least he still has his tan ;) Now, life is still grand, but in a different way. We've realized some things along the way, things that are vastly different than what we saw in ourselves even in January. The Five Year Plan is still somewhat on track, but it's seen the light of some different possibilities and some precious lessons. The Talks at the Kitchen Table no longer seem to have had the import that they once did, but they still serve to make us realize how faithful the Lord has been in bestowing upon us a friendship that has transcended time and distance.



As we talked together just a few hours ago, I trying desperately to stay awake at work, he trying not so desperately to do the same while lying down in a dark room at home, I was amazed at how far our friendship has come. It's seen the light of many days bright and fair, and the clouds of storms warning us to take care. We've prayed together, eaten together, sat together, eaten together, surfed together, eaten together, laughed together, eaten together, talked about the Korean Woman Theory and the Time Theory together, and laughed about people like Amber Tu together. Did I mention we've eaten together? In doing all those things over the years, it's easy to forget some of the best memories. Hopefully, I can remember a few that I've forgotten.



There was the time we were coming back from Camp Malaekahana, where we'd had a youth retreat, and Andrew was driving Snuffy, his brown Toyota van. Snuffy was stuffed with all the sound equipment and more, and was weighed down unlike ever before. The road out from Hale'iwa was a long, windy road uphill, and I remember looking at the speedomoter and seeing that we were going just 30 mph on that single-lane road, despite the fact that he had the pedal to the metal. The funny thing is, I looked back and saw a whole line of cars behind us, forced to crawl at the same pace. We just looked at each other and laughed :)



Then there was that time at Camp Erdman...I forget how long ago...I wasn't even supposed to be there, really, but I had somehow gotten cajoled into staying for the weekend and helping. That's what happens when your oldest sister is administrator for the camp and you're her brother who used to be in youth ministry with everyone else. Anyway, I remember praying with Andrew one night in particular. Our hearts were both very heavy. We had observed a sort of tenseness in the overall spirit of the camp, one that we couldn't quite pinpoint. A lot of the kids didn't want to be there; those that did were holding back something, it seemed. We prayed for quite some time, then finally went to bed. I remember I wrote him a note before I left to pick up Rife that morning from the airport (that reminds me...I gotta track down Rife and catch up with that monkey...), and when I got back, it seemed like God had already been at work through the camp. That whole weekend was crazy; I wasn't supposed to be there, but as Andrew and I reflected on it, we realized that God had used me in so many ways I wasn't expecting. So much for not being in youth ministry...



I remember all the times his face would light up when he'd say, "hey, I wrote another song...would you like to hear it?" Those times are some of my favorite times with Andrew...listening to him sing a new song he wrote, or us singing one we both knew. I don't think times like those will change, but it's hard for him to play and sing over the phone...especially when he's lying down and about to fall asleep ;)

posted by Bolo | 7:47 AM
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