A Friend Like Steve

 A friend loves at all times,

    and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17

 That’s Steve.

 At Steve’s funeral his son, Chad, offered three words to the large gathering of Steve’s family and friends which sum up Steve’s character:

Kindness, Respect, Love. 

 My experiences with Steve through his too-brief life proved those words to be true. Our last meeting gives you an idea. As I walked to the first tee for my first competitive golf match since my stroke five months earlier, Steve greeted me with his trademark smile and soft voice with the kind of welcoming words that put my nervousness at ease. Now I knew that if my first shot went sailing across the road, well, Steve understood. It was my second shot that sailed wildly into the ditch, and off he went, hunting through weeds I couldn’t traverse. “A brother is born for a time of adversity.”

 I am blessed to have many friends like Steve, but Steve was a model friend. In losing a friend like Steve I learned anew how important it is to have and to be a friend like Steve, born to be with friends in times of adversity.