I remember

I am sad. Not only because I will miss Marc, but because the Kingdom has one less faithful and utterly committed worker.

Marc and I met freshman year at Stanford. The first few years, I usually spent time with him within the context of Marc, Aaron, and Scott. But as the years went by, I got more Marc time on my own, which was always great -- fun, enlightening, and I always felt that Marc wanted to know me. He had this uncanny gift to not ever get defensive or insecure within conversations, like normal people, so he never interrupted you or answered too quickly in conversations. Which meant that he always said wise stuff while I would rush headlong into stupid statements. I remember once, senior year, I wanted to confront him -- with one of those famous IV-endorsed confrontational talks -- for not being intentional enough with me. But somehow, and to this day I don't know how it happened, amidst my talking and accusing and explaining, I ended up apologizing to him for not being intentional enough. He was able to provoke me toward deeper wisdom and humility and godliness without saying more than about 5 words in that conversation.

I remember driving with him in that huge boat of a car he had.

I remember visiting him in Sparks.

I remember going with him and a bunch of others up to Victoria Island after freshman year. We were driving through Washington, and he said something like: "You know, except for the scenery, the cars, the words on the billboards, and the roads, this is just like Germany." Uh, what? We laughed about that one for years.

I remember going to the Palo Alto vineyard with him for a few years.

I remember wondering how he could talk so slowly and run or ski so fast.

I remember that grunting laugh he had.

I remember going to weekly breakfasts with him, Scott and Aaron senior year at Denny's.

And sadly, I will remember not being in touch with him the last several years of his life. I know that certain circumstances in his life led him to draw away from some of his relationships, but it made me sad. But I always figured that we would reconnect later. I am sure he thought the same.

I am sorry that I was not able to connect with him one more time before he died, so that I could tell him that I loved him.

Mike Langford
Austin, TX