My Best Friend

When I left home for The Master's College at the age of 18, I was leaving behind a group of friends that I had grown incredibly close to. In fact, I am still close friends with that same group from high school. That said, I expected my college experience to consist of going off to school, enjoying some great classes, and then returning home to my friends. It's not that I didn't think I would make new friends, it's just that I didn't see any possibility of anyone being able to be as close to me as my friends from home.

About half-way through my Freshmen year at Master's I met Dave McAllister. He was a year ahead of me and he lived in a different dorm. We had Old Testament Survey together, and we sat together in the front row of Dr. Varner's class each Thursday night.

Throughout that year we became close enough friends that we decided to room together when we both went to Israel in the Fall of 1997. We grew together a lot during that semester, even though sometimes we really grated against each other. We came out of that year really being soul mates (in a totally heterosexual way). And I mean that. Our hearts have been knit together in a special way that makes me think of David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel.

Some of my great college memories with Dave are:

1. Arguing about what music is okay for Christians to listen to. Our most memorable argument revolved around comparing The Dave Matthews Band to White Zombie. We argued about it in public too. I think people in The Master's lounge were kind of freaked out.
2. Listening to music in Dave's room. Maybe we argued about music because we both loved it so much. Dave introduced me to Matchbox 20, Everclear, and a bunch of other bands. I pointed him toward Toad the Wet Sprocket. In fact, the first picture of this post is Dave and I at the Toad concert last August.

3. Eating McFlurrys while sharing our burdens. We used to go and get McFlurrys from McDonalds and then sit in Dave's car and talk. We would challenge each other, cry together, bear our souls, and share out struggles. They were great times of rich fellowship together.

Some of my great post-college memories with Dave are:
1. Being in each other's weddings. The picture on the left is from Dave and Kelly's wedding last December. I was honored to be one of Dave's groomsmen, just as he was one of mine at my wedding.

2. Meeting up to go see movies. Dave lives in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Last month we met up in Olympia so that we could see Gone Baby Gone. It was a heavy, powerful, amazing movie and we both knew that we wanted to watch it with each other. This has been the case with several memorable movies.

3. Watching Survivor together. Not really, we just text the whole time we are both watching. Fun stuff. Sorry about James. Don't worry, I think my boy Todd is next.

4. Going to concerts. I already mentioned Toad, but we also went to see U2 and Counting Crows last year.

Beyond all these memories, though, the richness of the friendship is that we both knew each other. We have seen the best and the worst in each other and our friendship has remained strong. Dave has always looked for the best in me, and has challenged me when I have been off base. He has been a great example to me of someone who truly embraces the profundity of each human being. He pursues people and desires to know them. I deeply admire this about Dave.

Well, I wanted to post some pictures from our college days, but I will have to find some and scan them. Maybe there will be a sequel to this so that I can post some fun pics. But I didn't want to wait to post this.

Dave, thanks for being my best friend for the past ten years. I love you, bro.

The rest of you, thanks for reading.