Here in America: Grant

Jun 9, 2007

Grant

"While it's true that sometimes you don't know what you have until its gone, it's also true that sometimes you don't know what you've been missing until it arrives."

I saw that quote posted in the tax & revenue office where I was belatedly filing my taxes this past Wednesday and I immediately thought of Grant.

I could say many things great things about G-Rant--I could tell you what an incredible teacher he is, I could tell you what an gifted writer he is (one only need read his blog to see that), I could tell you about his love for Jesus and for his service to the church, I could tell you about his adventuresome spirit and zest for life. Those things are all true, but they've either been said before or are abundantly evident on the pages of this blog and his own. So instead I'm sticking to one great thing about Grant that has meant the most to me personally:

He was--and is--my friend.

I've been living in Saipan for nine years but it wasn't until this year that I realized I'd been missing the experience of getting lost in the boonies of Saipan. I didn't know I was missing having someone call me up to see what I was up to for the day and was I up for watching a video. I didn't know I missed having a work-out partner at the gym. I didn't know I was missing debating the political and religious issues of the day with someone who wasn't online. I didn't know how much I missed having someone say, "Hey, can I pray for you?" In short, I didn't know I missed having a friend.

Oh, it's not that I had no friends at all. I have aquaintances, colleagues, good friends from Marriage Encounter and other community organizations that I see every now and then. And of course back in the States I have friends who I've known for years--solid, heart & soul friendships that have stood the test of time. But I didn't really have anyone like that in Saipan, and frankly, I was fine with that. At least until Grant came along.

Here's how you know someone is a true friend--You can't wait to share something with them. You hear something, you read something, experience something and your first thought is--"Oh, I can't wait to tell ______ " or "_______ would totally love this." Only a few people fit that bill for me among them Babs, my mom, my sister, my best friend J, . . .and now Grant.

Well, now Grant's gone, on to his next big adventure, and while I know our friendship will remain, I'm finding the first part of that quote to be true well. "Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone."

On the morning of of Tuesday, June 5, Grant says goodbye to (somewhat) trusty Rusty the truck. Rusty has refused to start since the day Grant left. I guess that little old truck is taking his owners departure pretty hard.