The phone rang and I chose not to answer. I was tired, still groggy from staying awake too late. But somehow life happens whether I answer or not, and sometimes death happens when you least likely expect.

Unlike other “normal” people I know, my school years were great. I made friends I will love forever and the bonds that were created will never break even though years and miles seperate us. My family life stunk when I was growing up so my friends became my family. They are wonderful people and even to this day I remember them fondly.

I went to a school where everyone knew everyone. We graduated with 75 in our class and while people flocked together due to interests, academic and personal, we shared a unity that I believe is uncommon. Those were the days. We were crazy teenagers and all suffering through the same six hours, identity issues and the normal drama of any high school. 

Later today, after I had resolved earlier to return the phone call when I got home, I was checking my email and discovered an urgent message. Perhaps urgent is too dramatic. It was aready too late. A sobering message. One of our friends had decided life was too much and chose to kill himself.

His name was Todd. He will always be remembered as the class clown. An ongoing monologue of silliness and hilarity. Brent and Todd were best friends, inseperable and downright crazy. They climbed the fence at the city pool to take a swim one night at about 3:00 a.m. Of course, the police almost busted them, but it is still a funny story.

The city pool must not have been enough of a rush. The bigger the better. These guys scaled a barbed wire fence to get into White Water, the big water park in the city, to create their own “Night Water” fun. It must have been the middle of the night (morning) and they spent plenty of time riding the rapids, the lazy river, and diving off the rocks before a security guard gave chase. The cops ended up delivering them back to their parents at some ungodly hour. But we admired their creativity and guts.

When we were seventeen, Todd was a huge influence in my accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Obviously, life happened and he didn’t know how to dig out of it. He got lost in the swell of disappointment and depression and drowned. If you are at a point in your life where it’s just too much, I encourage you to get on your knees and just dump it before the feet of the Father. He cares so much for you. He wants so much for you. He understands and He will always love you regardless of where you’re at in your life. You are the only thing that can seperate you from God.

I’ve heard stories from other people about classmates who had been killed or passed away after graduation. I knew it was a matter of time before I started hearing the same things. Sometimes I wondered who would be the first. Now I know.

Todd’s funeral will be our unofficial class reunion. Eighteen years. I know that if any of us would have known, we would have done whatever we could to help him. As you run through life please smile, share a kind word, offer hope to a stranger whether you think they need it or not. There are many “Todd’s” in the world right now and we can make a difference.

However, I want to end on a hopeful note. Our God is so good. He has made provision for us, an eternal place, that we all can look forward to. But there’s no need to rush to get there. Enjoy your life. Enjoy the sunsets that He spreads across the sky for anyone who will look. Enjoy listening to others laugh. Really, life is a trip you only get to take once. Some days we’re glad for that, but I guarantee one day you’ll look back and ask yourself what you’ve done with it. Make sure you can live — and die — saying you made the most of it.

While I say good-bye to a friend, he now knows how much he really had to live for. Please don’t wait until the other side of Heaven to find out how much you had to live for.