"Craig"

I liked my friend Craig Shoemaker, who died today of a heart attack, since the very first time we met.  In fact we hit it off SO well that I took this picture of him (above) at our first meeting.

It was January 1981, and Beth and I were visiting Michigan with our daughter Jenna (15 months old at the time.) Ronald Reagan was being sworn in for his first term that very day as a mutual friend introduced me to CRAIG, a big, "gentle giant" type of guy. Craig and  I "clicked" immediately talking about our common faith in the Lord AND the first two "Rocky" movies (this was a year-and-a-half before "Rocky III" came out, which shows you how long ago it was.)  Craig got a kick out of my "New Jerseyish" manner of speaking, and I loved to hear his hearty laugh.  I took this photo of the big guy and we promised we'd stay in touch, but, sadly, never did.  Until...

Fast forward to 2015, 34 years later.

Craig and I reconnected on Facebook, and when he learned that Beth was dying of cancer, he came to New Jersey to visit.  You see, Craig never married but told me several times he was looking for a "good little gal" like her before he'd take the plunge.  He admired her, and was disappointed (jokingly, of course), that my daughter was now grown and engaged, Lol!! (I, in turn, visited HIM in Michigan last year, a few months after Beth passed.) Below is a photo of Craig as he looked last year, in 2017, 36 years after our first meeting.

The thing about Craig is even though over three decades passed between our first meeting and the last two, we always enjoyed hanging out (or chatting on the phone, or via Facebook) as much as that FIRST time.  The mark of TRUE friendship and fellowship!! Not even 24 hours ago, Craig had a massive heart attack while working, and he just died today. 

I'm sad, but as I'm almost the age HE was (64), I know it most likely won't be over 3 decades before I see Craig again. And when I do, it will be There, in the Place where Christ is, His People are, and Where there will be no more pain or partings.

Until then, this world has lost a really great guy, Craig Shoemaker.