Matt Steele

My friend's suffering is over now. I feel relieved in the midst of my sadness. He's probably listening to some really good music right now. I miss Matt and I'm glad he was my friend.

Somehow, today was a great day. It started with a phone call from Dan Hislop, breaking the news. He and his family we're planning to come over so he could record the last bit of his album. We decided to not cancel, so that we could be together. It was a good call. I called my Mom and had an amazing talk about Matt. Dawn and her family also came over to comfort us. Soon thereafter, Scott Anderson showed up for some hugs.

I was supposed to play guitar today at church. Should I still do it? I decided it was best to still play. Playing music soothes my soul, and was one of the things that Matt & I shared so closely. Plus, I knew I had something to offer a mourning body. Brad McCarter called me and said that he had been looking for something to do "to help" for two years....playing in today's service was finally something tangible we could do. I'm so glad that we did. It was an annoited time of reflection, mourning and hope.

We needed some more time to gather as friends, and thankfully, many friends were up for spending more time together. I'm going to need a lot more times like that with friends. There are many I still need to catch up with. I had comforting talks with my Dad and sister when I got home. Chris Mundell and Greg Lawler had amazing posts about Matt. Gabe and I caught up on the phone and shared sorrow and encouragments. Each of today's events were significant to me. I'm very thankful I had this day to process a tremendous loss. Angela will be going into labor any day now, but God knew we needed this day.