March 6 – “To Scott Scoggins”

We have some schedule juggling to do today and tomorrow.  Of course the first thing on tap is church.  Definitely a plus to look forward to.  After church we have to rush home to get ready for the second key feature of our weekend.  We are going to attend the wedding of one of the guys who was on the basketball team I used to coach.  I became good friends with his Dad who was a pastor here in Galveston.  I'm looking forward to it for several reasons, but one is so I can get a look at the venue.  They are having the ceremony in an old Swedish church that Ben (the groom) actually helped restore.  I did a wedding there once before, but they have done quite a bit more work on it since then.  I'm not sure where the reception is, mainly because we will probably not be able to go to it.   And the reason we have to depart soon after the ceremony is the next segment of our hectic schedule.  We have to choose which of two pre-funeral visitations to attend.  Both funerals are tomorrow as well.   The visitation for Christi's grandfather is from 5 – 8 p.m. somewhere over near Crosby, Texas.  If I understood Josh correctly, it is in the community called Highlands.  That's where a friend of mine is a pastor.  I'll have to take along his phone number if that's where we end up tonight.    The problem is that there is another funeral visitation at the same time, but this one is in far northwest Houston.  Scott Scoggins died yesterday.  He and his wife Mary were like parents to us when I was on staff at Langwood Baptist Church way back when we were still in college.  They walked with us through getting married and buying our first home and Chris becoming a Christian and having our first child and, for me, figuring out the reality of Jesus wanting a personal relationship with me.  We spent many Sunday afternoons at their house eating a big meal and playing with their daughter's food and napping while waiting for the evening activities at the church.  He participated in one of the best pranks I ever played on anyone.    At a Christmas party at their house, the "fun" thing to do was to wait for someone to go to the bathroom.  Then the entire group would gather at the door and serenade the unsuspecting victim with Christmas carols until they came out.  I watched the festivities a few times, and a plot began to develop in my brain.  I sought Scott out and enlisted his help.  I needed to borrow a pair of his boxer underwear.  He didn't ask what for.  He just reached into his dresser, handed them to me, and with a shake of his head, grinned a sly grin as if to say, "Go for it."  The words that actually came out of his mouth were, "Don't tell Mary I had any part in this.  If you do I'll deny it all."  With that he returned to his recliner to await the inevitable, and I went into the bathroom, announcing my exit by closing the door just a little too loudly so the group would be sure to know another patsy was at hand.    True to form the crowd gathered.  Unbeknownst to them, however, I was listening carefully to their whispers, waiting for just the right moment.  The first notes of the song began to trill forth, "Deck the Halls with boughs of Holly, Fa, la, la, la, la …"  And somewhere amidst the fa, la, la's, I ripped open the door and exclaimed, "Can't a person go to the bathroom in peace around here?"  Mouths were agape and the singing stalled at what they beheld before them.  I stood there, wearing Scott's boxers over my own, with my jeans around my ankles.  As I scanned the crowd, I found the eyes I was looking for near the back of the group.  And Scott's eyes were gleaming with mirth as he gave me a wink and a thumb's up.    To say they were friends is just not quite enough.  Even stand-in parents doesn't quite do it.  They were gifts to us from God at just the time we needed them.  He loved to sing, so I know he's enjoying his time praising Jesus in heaven right now.   We'll figure out our schedule somehow.    Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."   Father, thank you for my friend Scott.  Enjoy your time with him.  Amen.