If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Christmas has always been a wonderful time for me. No matter what I knew that I would get to spend quality time with family and friends. Growing up we never had enough money to buy all the fancy things people like to get on Christmas. My mother always did her best but we grew up knowing the real purpose of Christmas. Not to get the most expensive gifts possible but to cherish the people that really matter in your life. Last Christmas everything changed when my best friend growing up passed away by overdosing on drugs.

Throughout high school Mike and I spent a lot of time together. I spent so much time over his house I’m sure his parents were ready to strangle me. We weren’t well behaved kids and I’m sure that pushed them to the edge. Even though I was always a big hassle they accepted me into their home. Many summers were spent out at his house riding quads, listening to music and hanging out in the basement until early in the morning talking about everything under the sun.

Looking back on the memories we shared brings tears to my eyes. Such a short life. Why did it have to end so suddenly and in the bitter manner that it did? The story of my dear friend MIke’s life is anything but glamorous. Mike’s problem was that he was always too hard on himself. His big heart often came back to hurt him and people took advantage of that. My biggest regret is that the years leading up to his death I didn’t do enough. I know, when something happens to our loved ones we quickly blame ourselves. I can’t help but feel like I wasn’t doing my job.

The greatest joy that I have is knowing that I will one day see Mike again. The one thing I did right was sharing my faith with him and because of that he accepted Christ as his savior. I only wish that I could have helped him along the way to a better life through that decision. Mike was raised Catholic but it was clear that he didn’t practice the faith of his parents. I often talked him into coming to church with me and he seemed to have fun but it never got through to him. See, there was a time when I was a lost renegade that did the same things that took him to the end of his life. Thanks to my wife’s mother I was introduced to Christianity and a man that would soon lead me to Christ and eventually out of my dark lifestyle. Sadly Mike never came to know life through Christ.

Every Christmas for the rest of my life will never be the same. Beneath the gifts, the warm smiles of my family and the good times we will share I know that something will always be missing. My dearest friend, I will miss you. I know you wouldn’t want me to shed a tear but I can’t lie and say it doesn’t break my heart every time I think about you. You taught me that real friends are always there for each other. No matter where we go in life we will always have someone who understands. You will be remembered for your heart, for the love that you shared and for the friendship you gave so freely. I’m sorry that I didn’t return the favor as well as I could have. I know that you have forgiven me because that’s how you always were.

Let this be a lesson to each and every person that reads this story. Your friends are worth more than you could ever imagine. You never know, you could be the only person that can help them out of the ruts in life. I know that we can’t make a 100 calls a day to every friend we’ve ever had. All you can do is be the best friend that you can be. Hindsight is 20/20, it’s easy to say what we would have done if we had another chance. Don’t make the same mistake twice. Pick up the phone, make some time to stop and say hello; it may be the last chance you get to say I love you to a friend that is worth all the trouble in the world.

Related Posts

• Merry Christmas
• Happy Holidays
• Mrs. Fields Says "Bah, Humbug" To Christmas. Updated.

Tags:  Christmas Mike Morgan