Rick

Rick. 

Today I did something that I didn't want to do.

I attended a good friends funeral. 

When I walked in, I caught him in my peripheral, and I started to cry. Hard. 

Real hard. 

If you know me, and you've seen me cry like this; you know it has a ripple effect.

Rick was a fun loving, light hearted, rib-busting kinda guy. Always put a giant smile on people's faces. 

Rick, struggled mightily with addiction -but don't worry, this didn't define him. Nope, not one bit.

Earlier today, with a packed house at the funeral service, I watched his mother give an eulogy that would rival Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Then, I watched his uncle, who is a pastor, share about his life. 

Then it came time for people to share, and I felt as though I would have regretted not sharing my heart. So I stood up in the back of the room and said this: 

Hello my name is Anthony Kladitis, and I have known Rick for about 20 years. 

Rick had a special gift.  

Rick was an encourager. 

In life, you could exert energy in two ways, you could either push people down or pull them up. 

Rick pulled people up. 

Everyone in this room could attest to Rick pulling them up at one time or another.

In conclusion, I could confidently say that I am a better Christian, better pastor, and better human being for having known Rick Glass. 

At the and of the service, his family handed out brightly colored flashlights so that everyone could take one, put it in a place that they could see, and remember the light that Rick showed us all -in the hopes that we could go and do likewise. 

Good vibes and positive thoughts.