We’re all children of God. We all have Buddha Nature or Christ Consciousness or a Spark of the Creator or whatever term you like to use. We all are the same and part of the same body, in a sense. We manifest that divinity, that perfection in varying degrees. Some people are just special people. My friend Rich Miller is one of those people.
I met Rich on Facebook, I’m not even sure how or when. We talk some on Facebook, but really not that much. So, I was stunned when he showed up at Shayna’s celebration of life last year. He flew in to support me. There were so many people there I could only spend a couple of minutes with him, then he was gone. When he found out that Shayna had passed, Rich took a day off of work just to spend it with his kids. He’s that kind of Dad. His job takes him all across the country and I see him meeting up with people that he knows sometimes just through Facebook. When he’s within a couple of hours from me on business, he’ll drive in to have dinner or a long lunch like we did yesterday. When I made a post about not wanting to live anymore, Rich came and took me to task giving me some tough love that I needed at the time. Today Rich has to be in Louisville and then in Indianapolis. Both are around two hours from me and getting here is way out of his way, but Rich makes the drive just to take me to lunch and enjoy a conversation.
There are some people who just try to do life right and even though I haven’t known Rich long or spent a lot of time with him, I can tell he’s just one of those guys. When we’re together and we’re talking about his wife or his kids there is this passion he has for wanting to be the best father and husband that’s palpable. It’s so cool to meet guys like that who really get what being a Dad is about and what a privilege it is to be there for our kids. He goes way out of his way to find opportunities to be with his kids, getting certified as a swimming judge so that he could support his daughter’s high school career (not an easy thing to do), helping his son launch his business at the age of 10 years old.
Rich’s Mama (as I call her) is another one of those special people. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as Tywana would say. She checks on me all the time, even though I’ve never met her. She sends encouraging words. I see the bond that Rich still has with his mother, the respect he has for her. It’s something to behold.
Rich is just one of several special people I’ve had the privilege to run across. I’d start naming them, but I’d leave someone out. It’s been fascinating to watch how tragedy has caused some people who were virtual strangers or just acquaintances step up. And others who I thought were close, have just faded away.
