Sunday 2024 — Steve

October 13th has been a difficult date for 55 years because it was the day our best friend, Mike Wagner, was in a terrible auto accident. An accident that hours later caused his death. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell more about Mike.

Today, October 13th, increased in difficulty. Because today another dear friend, Steve Craig, has entered eternity. Steve had been hospitalized for more than two dozen days. We knew he was not well. He has been sick before and recovered, so we had been praying for him and were confident he'd recover.

We've known Steve for less than 10 years, but felt like he'd been our friend for a lifetime. He married our dear friend Becky a few years ago. Then from a distance, over social media, our friendship with Becky's Steve developed and grew as we watched him cherish and care for her.

Over the years every time they were anywhere near where we were, we'd all meet for a meal and for hours of fun.

For several summers they have traveled in their RV to the Central Coast and stayed for a length of time and oh the fun we enjoyed. This past summer they were here with us for the famous Cayucos July 4th Parade and celebration. We had a blast.

So this morning shortly after leaving church, my phone received a text from Becky telling me "Steve passed into glory at 10:08." The climate of our day changed radically as we tried to comprehend that news that seemed completely incomprehensible.

We had an afternoon appointment in the city north of us. Our drive there was very quiet as we both prayed for our friend Becky and tried to process this shocking information. Mr. Fun & I were thankful for the afternoon distraction that served as a shock absorber.

I thought when I was young that dealing with death would get easier as I got older. That hasn't happened. Death is foreign to me. I think God never intended for His creation to die. People were designed to live forever. Sin brought death. And death is hard to comprehend. We're thankful that Jesus brought Eternal Life for those of us who would accept His Sacrifice of dying in our place. Jesus paid our penalty for sin.

What we know about Steve is that we are going to mourn and to celebrate his friendship and miss him until we join Steve in Eternity. Please pray for our friend Becky that she would sense God's comfort in the days and weeks ahead.

Good night from
California’s Central Coast,
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe & Mitzi too