The Torch Passed

The first was a brilliant man who dreamed of being a doctor but decided that God wanted him to volunteer for his church and became a printer instead. The second is a brilliant man who has dreamed of being a musician but has decided that God wanted him to do other things, such as spend time overseas praying and spend time at home discipling young men, as well.

The first was known by his children’s school friends as the person to ask any question; if he didn’t know the answer, he would find it. The second is known for enjoying fielding Timmy M.’s questions (and those of other Fairwood children), and occasionally making up answers.

The first was a great family man who tried to make Sabbath meetings fun. (I remembered being surprised when I spent one Sabbath evening with Uncle Earl’s family, and they played the very same spin-the-globe-and-pray game that we sometimes played as a family. Then I figured out where it must have come from.) The second is a great man with his family who often sleeps through Sabbath meeting.

The first was a man who would work in the garden when his wife assigned the family members to do that. The second is a man who will work in the garden without being assigned to, and is adored by his mother as a result. (I guess she’s forgiven him for the times he would protest doing his chores, saying, “How can you ask an angel to unload the dishwasher?!”)

The first is a man who exercised creativity even in small matters, such as in not answering the phone the same way twice in a row. The second is a man who also shows creativity—from the fun activities he plans for family camps and guys’ heart groups to the way he arranges his living spaces and his music.

The first is a man who served in WWII (and never was a smoker or got in trouble for sneaking off base with a girl, no matter what his grandson’s biographical movie says J). The second is a man who fights for right in the heavenlies in prayer and in song.

The first is a man who dedicated his life to God. The second is a man who has done the same. The first was a man loved and respected by all who knew him. The second man is, also. (Just check out how many students who attend the school where he teaches like his CD’s Facebook page. Or ask the employees at the TD Bank operations center what they think of him, Mr. Incredible costume notwithstanding. Or perhaps because of the Mr. Incredible costume.)

The first man’s first and middle initials were CK; he generally went by “Kenath” or “CK.” The second man’s first and middle initials are also CK—he’s named after his grandfather—though he goes by “Craig.” I’ve often thought that my brothers resemble in character the men they were named after, and Craig is no exception. Brilliant, creative, and steady are words that can describe both of the CKs.

The first man finished his race just a few hours before the other hit the start mark—in Kohathite years (see Numbers 4*)—of his. There aren’t coincidences with God: a torch has been passed.

Happy 30th birthday, Craig. And happy heaven homecoming, Grandpa.

I love and miss you both.

*It is slightly unclear whether the Kohathites actually started service at age 30, or whether they started to be counted in the census at age 30. (In other places, it indicates that Levites started service or started to be counted at age 20 or 25, and the Kohathites were a subset of the Levites.) Either way, 30 seemed to be a mile-marker then and in Jesus’ life, when he began his public ministry.