Shot Gun!
Yesterday was Jon’s last Light Force road trip. I have to say that I was a bit nostolgic about the trip to Michigan’s Adventure yesterday. It was a trip that is not only a lot of fun… it’s also represented a major “changing of the guard” for our group. As this is our last major summer event, it was the last opportunity for the class of 2005 to travel with us before they leave us for the college & career group. At the same time it was a major “tour de force” of our emerging middle school classes! They rocked.
This is my 3rd summer of ministry here and one thing has always been a constant. Every time we do anything, Jon yells “Shotgun.” Now with me, I have a rule about shotgun. [Who sits next to the driver in the car/van.] In order to call shotgun I have to have left the building on my way to the car. So when multiple people want it… they rush out in front of me and wait for my foot to cross the threshold. Jon almost always got it. So much so that there were times when other students were sour about it and I had to ask him to take the 2nd row.
Jon’s been a faithful travel companion for 3 years. He’s gone to almost anything and for any reason. He’s gone on countless errand runs to get things for Light Force. We’ve been to Home Depot dozens of times. He went on all of the college visit trips. He did all the mission trips, including the Northern Ireland trip. And he almost always sat next to me. We guessed that we’ve put in about 30,000 miles next to each other… and it is always fun!
Over the 3 years, Jon’s not just travelled with me a lot, he’s grown a lot. I beamed with pride when David Schultz from Project Serve bragged about how well Jon was doing in Ballymena a few weeks ago. He went on and on about how impressed he was with Jon in the work there. It also excites me to hear about the way he’s jumped into Romeo’s college & career ministry with both feet. All I can say when I hear these stories about Jon is “wow… that’s too cool.”
But, don’t read this as a story of pomp and circumstances… Sugar and spice and all things nice. Jon, while he has grown a lot, didn’t start out a success story. When I met him he was a headache. Undisciplined, unfocused, ulcer causing to mom and dad… Actually, the day I met him he managed to roll over the families Camry while driving… while he was grounded from the car. Mom wanted to kill him. His sister wanted to kill him. His dad probably wanted to kill him but never said anything… let’s just say he was one of the first students I prayed for at Romeo. You just never knew what Jon would do. If something broke… he did it. If something was missing, he knew something about it. If someone was mad, Jon was at the middle. There were times I too wanted to ring his neck. I always liked him, but sometimes to a fault.
But as Jon started to surrender his life to Christ… his life turned around quickly. He never went back to summer school. He got into a lot less trouble. He has gradually taken on more responsibility. He’s made better choices for himself. He’s gotten into better relationships. He’s really become a joy to be around. This past spring, when he asked me to write some references for colleges, I wrote the same thing in every reference. “Please don’t make the mistake of reading Jon by the averages. Look at him as a tale of two students. One before and one after.”
Now what?
I heard a little talk about who would take Jon’s spot. I know a couple of the upperclassmen are making their claim. The truth is. There won’t be a replacement. Jon was unique, he was an individual. There maybe someone new in the front seat… but it won’t be Jon. We’ll have fun together and we’ll bond and it will be cool… but there won’t be a replacement. I’ll miss my road trip buddy… but I will move on.
Of course, just because he’s in college doesn’t mean I can’t take pointless road trips with him!
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