This past week I was at the funeral for someone who was once in my youth group. He was in his late thirties and he died from complications after looking like he had beaten a tumor. Shocking is the best word to describe being told he had passed because you don’t expect to bury someone who was once under your care. I had the privilege of performing his wedding six years ago and it was a fantastic experience. Everyone was a lot of fun and it was great to see him grownup and on a path that excited him… especially because he wasn’t someone who typically got excited. Josh Hincks was one of the most unique (in a good way) people to grace any youth group I have been part of, and now he has left this world for the next.
The first time I met Josh was on my first day as a youth pastor at my first church. I was hosting a booth to promote the youth group and he came up to my table with this gorgeous girl who had her arm locked with his. I assumed they were dating, but it turned out they worked together and because he was quirky this girl liked to try to make him uncomfortable – she was special in her own way… which is why we soon started dating. Yup, that was my wife-to-be. The two of them worked together at Little Caesars and she had been able to get him going to her church. At work, there wasn’t a recycling program and because he was so environmentally conscious, he would collect all the recycling himself and on his bike (it was better for the environment than a car) he rode to the recycling plant with large recycling bags over his shoulder. Every time he got there he would get yelled at for not having the proper safety wear… and I think everyone was confused why he didn’t just put it to the curb at his parents’ house. As I noted; he was quirky.
Josh actually joined me on my first mission trip as a youth pastor to Philadelphia. We were there for a week and while everyone else had appropriate sized luggage for a week’s stay in a city doing some dirty jobs, he had a small school backpack that looked pretty empty. Besides a metal water bottle, I don’t know what he had in there, but to his credit he never smelt or looked dirty – I’m not sure how. He was like a magician whose trick was to stay dirt and stink free. The one night during some free time our group stopped at a mall. Fun fact, this was when the first iPhone was about to be released. It’s crazy how 20 years have passed. While we walked the mall, he refused to enter a den of commercialism, so he waited outside and played in a tree waiting for us. The same thing happened on the last day when we went to the big aquarium just outside the city. He waited outside for hours and was completely fine with it. I don’t think he even knew how to complain.
Two weeks ago I had two missed calls at midnight, which is strange because scammers never call twice. I also don’t receive calls that late from unknown numbers. I texted back saying I was up if they wanted to reply. I then received a message saying it was Bonnie and I did her wedding. She was hoping I could perform last rites for her husband who was dying. I told her I wasn’t Catholic, but I was happy to pray over the phone, which worked for her. I asked if he was a believer and she said yes, which is always blessing for someone in my position. I then prayed for a few minutes and sounded like someone who was a real pastor (it’s rare). I’ve done about 200 weddings and I have a terrible memory, so I had no idea who this was. I’ve done a lot of weddings for people in their 50s and 60s, so I assumed it was one of them, which meant this guy passing must be in his 70s or at least 60s because that would make more sense. It didn’t even blip in my mind that it could be Josh Hincks because that wouldn’t make sense. The next day, however, I went through my list of weddings and there was only one Bonnie and Josh… the person I prayed for was the Josh I knew. That didn’t make any sense
Fortunately, Josh gave his family the greatest gift anyone can give their loved ones before they die. He gave them the assurance that they will be able to see him again in heaven one day. By giving his heart to Jesus many years ago, he solidified his future. This life is short – for some, it’s shorter than others. We never know when we’re going to die, so it’s up to us to make the time to look into how we can get our name into the book of life because our decision today will determine where we go tomorrow. As I teach, God gives us what we want. If we want Him in our lives in this life, He welcomes us to be with Him in the next. If we don’t care about connecting with Him in this life, He keeps the relationship consistent in the next. There are eternal repercussions for our decision and Josh being a Christian made his funeral so much better because we know we can see him again one day.
May you love your family enough to make sure you know where you’re going.
Rev Chad David, Chaddavid.ca, learning to love dumb people (like me)
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