hey, you.

i've been pen pal-ing with my pop's best friend's son in korea. i got to sit and catch up

with their family when i was there a few months ago. i've seen them only a couple times in my life, but always feel so much warmth when i'm with them...from the way they loved my dad.

when i was 18 and my sweet dad went to see our Father, i was 18!! all i could think about was my own loss...my own tragedy, my own grief. but the older i get, and the more years that pass, the Lord

gives me glimpses into the loss that other people in my dad's life felt. recently, it's been

this friend of my father's. this man who loved, treasured, and cared for my dad in years

that my dad was making some pivotal decisions about who he would become and the life

he would set out to live. this friend watched and prayed faithfully, as my dad married my mom, began a family, and moved to a country far, far away. when his own family rebuked my dad for chasing dreams that fell out of line with his customary familial duties, this friend was who my dad turned to for prayer, support, and encouragement. and when my dad passed so suddenly,

this man grieved, thousands of miles away, the loss of his dearest friend. as i think about this dear friend, and the beauty of the way he loved my dad so faithfully, even now, i hear Jesus' promise to His very best friends on earth.

"...do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms (!!) if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the Way to the place where I am going."

-john 14:1-4