Take a Walk With Me

Some memories just stick with you for life. They come to mind easily and bring with them very raw emotions. This is especially true about my friend, Scott. Today, I want to remember him and share a little about him with you. Here are a few memories [in no particular order... as I'm feeling a bit scatter-brained at the moment] that have brought back a flood of emotion the past few days:

• Forking and Ricing lawns. There was probably toilet paper involved with that too. I'll spare you the details but it was a time consuming mess to clean up, and a fun little prank that my friend participated in. The excitement in his voice when he explained the process to me was definitely a teen-ager thing. Nothing particularly important about this but a memory that stands out for me.
• Tuesday night youth group at the river. I vaguely remember playfully fighting over who got to ride the jet ski next. I'm sure this involved a chase and me ending up in the river!
• Scott's toolbelt. This memory might stand out because the tool belt was at the funeral but I specifically remember Scott working on the barn with Dayn and the two of them wearing their tool belts.
• Sunday school class, when I first started attending. It was upstairs above the sanctuary taught by Richard and Teri. I seem to have this picture in my head of Scott sitting in that class but there's no noise to that memory.

At one point Scott and I had a brief time where we liked each other. I have fun memories of our innocent junior high relationship:

• The visit at the pool. We spent every week day afternoon at the city pool. I have a very clear memory of Scott stopping at the pool and talking to me. He was on his mountain bike and stayed outside the pool area. We talked for several minutes with a cyclone fence between us before we went our separate ways. I vaguely remember that the conversation was about a relationship with Christ.
• Scott's sweet sister, Amy, taking me to the youth group at the river. Scott was such a gentleman. He rode in the back of the car with me while Amy chauffeured us. That night, after youth group, he asked me to go to ice-cream with him. I can't remember if he went inside to ask permission with me or if he waited in the car. But we did go to ice-cream that night thanks to Amy for driving us.
• Hume Lake Camp. What a week of camp. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers this all too well. I didn't go to camp that summer. Scott called me from camp multiple times during his free time at camp. And I recall that he didn't get a lot of free time that week. The boys, in all their glory, got caught playing boyish pranks on each other and were forced by our soon-to-be youth pastor who worked at the camp to pull lake weed. This was a special treat for being naughty. They had to wade in the water of the drainage ditch leading into the lake and pull the weeds from the bottom. It was entertaining to hear about the pranks and the punishment. I also remember that during that week, I think it was Scott who took my necklace with him to camp (remember, we were in junior high) which would have deeper meaning a few years later.

I also have fond memories of my dear friend beyond the short-lived summer love. [I'm not trying to insinuate that I loved him. We were just finishing up junior high. I chose the word love because it wasn't a fling and couldn't think of another word]. Scott was a true friend, a real friend, a friend forever. Such a good friend that he was like a brother to me.

• Chatting on the front lawn. Again on his bike, he came over to my house. I remember sitting on the front lawn talking. This was the most important conversation we ever had. I remember Scott telling me about accepting Christ and walking me through what that meant. I wish I could have recorded our conversation. Today that conversation holds such value to me but at the time, we had just finished junior high, I'm sure there wasn't a whole lot of depth to it.
• He got his license first. And he made sure I knew it. For those who don't know me real well, I'm quite stubborn. I have this very clear memory of a post youth group conversation with him. It wasn't your typical conversation either. I asked Scott for a ride home from church since he would drive right past my house on his way home. Like the fun-loving jokester that he was, Scott said he wouldn't give me a ride. Off I went, walking the several blocks home when just a block away, he caught up to me. The conversation that ensued was of him driving along side me with the window down telling me that he would give me a ride home. In all my stubbornness, I wasn't about to get in the car. I [probably loved the chase, what girl wouldn't?] wasn't going to let him win. Today, I can't remember if he eventually drove off or if I eventually got in...
• He went to the dance with someone else! I don't think they called it a dance, nor did they dance, but the idea was the same. He went with Kristi, a very sweet girl. I was a bit jealous, as were many of the girls in our church. I remember asking Scott for a picture [that was back in the day when you gave everyone your picture from school sports, dances, etc] and never got one.

Then there's the memories from his accident and sudden death

• The news of the accident came shortly after I got home from basketball practice. The anger towards my sister for determining that I couldn't handle the news. The heartache of not knowing earlier and it being too late to go to the hospital.
• The time didn't stop but it did occur in slow motion the next few days. I recall vivid details of the next morning in ceramics class with Jake and Jill, two kids from church who were also friends with Scott. I remember leaving class in shock, not even knowing how to cry.
• I remember being without strength when I heard of his death and my dad having to hold me up. And choosing not to go to the hospital after the game because I wanted to remember the Scott I've been telling you about, not the broken friend in a hospital bed.
• I remember second guessing my decision to not go to the hospital where friends and family gathered.
• I remember not taking off my cross necklace [the one Scott had taken to camp] for a LONG time after he died even though I was required to for sports, etc (yes, not only am I stubborn, but you can add rebellious to the list to).

And as sad as all that is, [and before I start bawling about it], there was so much hope in his death. So much life in his death. I know it may be weird for some to make that connection. It just blows my mind; if Scott's life and death had meaning, and it does, how much more the life and death of a guy who specifically came to die for our sins. Thank you Jesus!

It's amazing to me how the memories of a person can develop after their death.

• Buck Rock Lookout [pictured above] is a fascinating place. But it has so much more meaning to friends and family of Scott. It was a place that Scott loved. The place where friends and family gathered to help carry the burden of Scott's parents and sister.
• The bike ride from Buck Rock Lookout down to Hume Lake may be a nice trail for some mountain bikers but for me, it is a place of sacrifice and thankfulness. Some people can make that ride without problem. Old guys like Scott's dad may slowly make it right up that hill. But for me, it was getting sick on the car ride up, and later puking my guts up while pretending to be in shape and ride the 18 miles to the lake. It represents another memory of my friend, the hope we have that though this journey may be rough, paradise is at the end.

Dear friend. Though 13 years have past, you continue to change lives. I'm so thankful that you took the time to invest in my life, eternally!