February 12, 2015

He equips the called...

As some of you have heard me say before, I never

expected that one day I would be asked to be a

pastor (called I think is the more "official" term).

My journey on this road has been one of

challenge and labor but often times resulting in a

surprising reward that leaves me feeling like I have

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SALT "You are the salt of the Earth..."

Matthew 5:13-16

February 12, 2015

been given far more than has been asked of me to

give. I have had the honor of seeing Jesus renew

a man's heart from the darkest of places only to

see him take on the roll of amazing father and

husband. I have seen marriages that seemed mere

moments from being dashed on the rocks of life,

go from destruction to a place of health and

vitality. The greatest moments are the weddings.

Clark and Denise's was certainly one of those

treasured moments. Our "crew" all down in

Marathon Key celebrating life, love and so much

promise that the future held before us all. But

February 11th marked out the most difficult

pastoral task that had been put before me. I will

never forget when Bryan called to say, "The

service is Wednesday and if you could, we would

like you to conduct Clark's funeral." No, this can't

be... I am not a real pastor... Why is this

happening... Clark can not even really be gone!

But then that reassuring voice so gently spoke

into my heart providing the peace and comfort I so

desperately needed. We can do this... Once

again I find myself celebrating the fact that God

often does not solely call those that are the

equipped... He more often will equip those whom

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February 12, 2015

He calls. And so, with the help of my best friend,

Cindy, we set out to write what would be the

following words that I spoke at the funeral of my

dear friend and brother.

I pray you mourn much in this life...

The Eulogy of Clark Eugene Kreger

Even in moments of difficulty and loss we can still

find sparks of light, sun beams of joy that

somehow pierce through the darkness of our

despair. I know that Clark, seeing this gathering

together (and knowing also of the gathering in

Colorado) of so many friends and family must be

amazed. Some of us have not been in the same

room together in 25 years! While this is a blessing

to see everyone together, I know in part it must be

stressing out Mr. Dougherty (one of our high

school teachers) because he knows that when this

crew is together "something" is just bound to

happen... Just in case, I had my excuses all ready

to go, "It was Ethan's fault and Sean made me do

it..."

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February 12, 2015

As we think of the unique blessing of friendship,

we can see that some friendships are forged over

the crucible of the years. They find their strength

in longevity. They only come to be after long

periods of time. But then we have those other

friendships. Ones that seem as if from the very

first moments you met, that they have always

been. It is hard to remember what your story was

like before that friend was in your life. This is

certainly how it was with our "crew". Clark was

always a part of the story, right? Sean and Ethan

just always have been around right? I have a hard

time remembering life before them... Or maybe a

part of me does not even want to. Interestingly, it

seems that these are also the friendships that you

can instantly reconnect. Your story together is

never stopped, it just has the pause button

pressed at different times. Paused for a moment

only to pick up right where you left off as soon as

you are together again, no matter how much time

has gone by. I take comfort in knowing that this is

how it will be when each of us get to see our dear

friend once again. We will walk the streets of

Heaven together, reunited and it seeming as if our

time without him was but a brief moment apart.

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February 12, 2015

Clark was a unique friend in that he never seemed

to have an enemy. There was no adversary to

Clark. Not many of us can say that... He was not

simply liked by those who knew him, he was loved

and admired. And no matter what seemed to

happen you just couldn't stay mad at "Clarky".

Even if... If... In your junior year of high school,

he kissed your girlfriend at Peter Gibeon's party...

(okay okay, I will let it go)

No matter what, you just can't stay mad at Vanilla

(his infamous nickname that led to many hilarious

dance moves at future prom's, holidays and

weddings).

Clark was more than just a friend. He was a loving

son, a brother, a father, a warrior, a hero.... A

husband.

And when we lose a Clark (one of the truly special

ones in this life), we are left with so many

questions. The most pressing of which is, "why?".

"Why THIS one Lord?"

" Why now?"

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February 12, 2015

"Why this way?"

"WHY???"

It is just so hard for us to comprehend or make

any sense out of at all. But look around this place

for a moment. Think also of the 700 people that

gathered to honor Clark in Colorado. So many

lives intertwined together. And in this we can think

of the artistry and beauty that goes into the

creation of a tapestry.

From one side of the tapestry all can seem like

total chaos. Just a random blending of random

strings in random ways. hundreds and hundreds

of lines intersecting in seemingly meaningless

ways. But then there is the other side of the

tapestry. As soon as we see the other side, the

masterpiece becomes clear. What seemed so

random now makes so much sense. Our lives here

are like this. Intersecting and connecting all

brought together to fashion a masterpiece. Clark

is able to now see the masterpiece more clearly

than any of us.

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February 12, 2015

He also now knows that he is not only loved and

adored by all of us, but loved and adored by the

One who created him. By the one who promised

to wipe away every tear from his eyes and welcome

Clark home. While we mourn our loss, we can

know that when Clark entered Heaven, the angels

rejoiced that one of the Father's precious sons

had finally come home.

But even knowing this, our hearts still hurt so

much. the pain will not subside... Why?

Because the more we love someone, the more

connected we become to another, it takes up

space in our hearts. We give over a part of

ourselves, a part of our heart, a portion of who we

are to that person. The bigger the portion, the

more we love will likewise lead to an increase in our

mourning when we lose them. Clark resided in

such a big part of our hearts and so the mourning

is so heavy... So very hard.

Last week, many people reached out to me

sending messages about who Clark was to them.

Stories and thoughts about the impact that he

had made in their lives. Each message shared a

similar theme, "Clark was always so kind. He lifted

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February 12, 2015

my spirits with his smile. He was always so happy,

so funny, so full of life. Clark was always so

caring. He was just so...

Clark!"

What struck me most

about these messages

was not in what was

written. It was in what

was not written. All of those messages and not

one mention of the brand of clothes he wore, the

cost of the car he drove, the size of his house or

any other material thing at all. Why? At risk of

cliche', it is because NONE OF THESE THINGS

REALLY MATTER!! And none of these things

should ever take up a larger place in our hearts

that do the people in our lives. God forbid that we

would ever mourn the loss of our stuff more than

the loss of our people.

And so our hearts break and we mourn because

we know that as we say our goodbyes today, part

of us... The Clark part of our hearts will be gone.

But conversely, a big part of Clark lives on. He

lives on in each thread of the tapestry. We get to

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February 12, 2015

have that part of him live on

in the way we smile like he

smiled. In the way we love

others the way he always

did. In the way we are kind

like Clark was so kind...

Through this we have a big part of who he was to

us live on everyday.

As we close our time together let me share with

you that there is a way for the pain to stop. There

is a way for us to mourn no longer... To never

again feel the hurt at a funeral again.

Never love another, never risk greatly for

another, never ever give that space in your heart

over to another and you may just minimize how

much it will hurt to ever have to say goodbye.

But we are not those people. Clark was never that

person. No, instead let's (knowing that we will be

reunited again one day) be the people who mourn

at MANY funerals! Mourn because we have

perhaps loved too much... Laughed together too

often... Because we let many people take up

places in our hearts they way that Clark would.

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February 12, 2015

That is what I know he would ask of us. That is

what I know would best honor his memory.

And this is the heart of what Jesus Christ asks of

each one of us. he told us that the greatest

commandment was to, "Love one another!"

Denise, thank you for being the love of Clark's

life. I never saw such joy in his eyes as when he

was with you, especially on your wedding day.

Dick and Bonnie, thank you for raising a boy into

such a great man.

Clark, thank you for taking up such a huge part of

our hearts and for being one of my very best

friends.

And God thank You for sharing with us

one who was so very precious to You.

Thank You for letting us be a part of the

masterpiece You created that was Clark

Kreger...

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February 12, 2015

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