Today I had the honor and privelege of watching one of my best friends get married. I've known Corey since we were eleven. My first memory of him involves our Wednesday night service known as Y.U.C.. Before all of middle school met together like it is now, sixth grade was separated from the seventh and eigth grade students. He ate an entire bag of Ghiradelli chocolate squares and to this day I have no how idea he managed it without being sick.
Since that night I've made many memories with him. One of the best was a Skillet concert back during the Awake and Alive tour. Corey introduced me to them while we were in high school and seeing them live with him is a night I won't forget. I still remember where I was when he called me and told me he had tickets and wanted to know if I wanted to go see them.
If you know Corey you know that he likes to have fun. We've had plenty of together. You also know Corey is hilarious. Combine those two characteristics and put them at a table of high school freshmen boys and you have a recipe for disaster. Our first two years of high school it was deemed a good idea to allow us to police ourselves. We had no leader at our table and that was likely not the best idea for most freshmen boys. Especially boys that happened to be us. God, and He alone knew that somehow leaving us alone would allow us to not only grow tighter as a group of guys but certainly helped us develop as young men who learned to stay on task (usually) and actually do what we were supposed to do.
Something very interesting happened those two years, I learned to speak. I do not often speak in groups, though I do more so now than I did at fourteen. Corey helped me speak. I was and still am a shy, introverted person. Those Sunday mornings though were a solid introduction in what it meant to be part of a group of people I could talk with. Fast forward seven years and I'm leading a group of seventh grade boys and occasionally teaching Bible Study. My freshmen and sophmore years of high school helped show me the way, Corey especially.
I followed my best friends to Middle School Ministry when we graduated High School in 2008. The logical place for me to be 'helping' was wherever Corey was. He did sound with the Kesslers. So I did sound. For Corey that meant running MediaShout (Now ProPresenter) and the soundboard. My job was to sit on a stool beside him and watch and learn. I did a lot of that and now seven years later I'm still running sound in Middle School Ministry. Getting Corey and I together usually means you will be getting some sort of shenanigans. Even as leaders we had plenty of fun in the "soundbooth" that was just a tiny section cut into the wall of what is now the college room at Bayside. From Fear Factor to Deal or No Deal we laughed way more than we should have and I think it is fair to say we were probably a distraction on occasion.
Those early years of sound though came with plenty of memories. Two in particular stick out. The first was during our first year of sixth grade initiation when the new kids had a chugging contest. Corey gave one of the kids a strongly shaken carbonated beverage which promptly spewed all over the poor boy while we cackled like maniacs. The second was during a sermon Eric Dill said someting about Highway to Hell and Corey and I both just looked at each other and started muttering the lyrics to the AC/DC song under our breath. Like I said we were completely behaved, never distracting, perfect adults.
Shenanigans then means shenanigans now. Corey sat in the balcony with me a few Sundays ago (I normally sit on the floor) and Mr.Tony and Miss Lisa were gone. Halfway through the sermon Corey's phone falls off his lap and makes a nice, loud thud on the floor. Our mature response was to start laughing. We can joke with each other and one of the easy avenues is our clothes. Early this year I came to church wearing a cardigan and get a text from Corey that says 'Mr.Rogers likes your sweater and so do I.' My response was:It's a cardigan and thank you. Even today before the wedding I was messing with him and told him if he walked out in tux I was probably going to faint. His response was:Get a wet towel ready. He did in fact have on a tuxedo.
All that aside, I want to say this: Cor, I love you brother. The wedding was fantastic. I don't think I've been to a wedding that was more fitting to the people in it than yours and Michelle's. From the groomsmen carrying lightsabers to the ring bearer being Darth Vader to the Star Wars scores, it was very you and that was great. You clean up well sir, you should do it more often. I wish you and Michelle all the best in your marriage. Christ was honored during the ceremony and I cannot wait to see how you honor Him throughout the coming years.
Growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.
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