For three years he was my next-door neighbor while we both endured the trials and enjoyed the camaraderie of seminary. We critiqued each other's research papers. We played Axis & Allies (the board game) 'til 3 a.m., then spent two hours arguing whether it was possible for Japan to successfully invade the U.S. We went to the midnight showing of The Two Towers and laughed at the guy dressed up like Gandalf. We drank Lapsang Souchong tea and then had to open the windows to air out the apartment. We discussed Karl Barth and Simon Chan, Buddhism and Eastern Orthodoxy. I used to tell Andy he had a mind like a steel trap in his ability to absorb vast quantities of information, synthesize it and then communicate it in an understandable fashion. He and his wife shared countless meals with us, treated our kids as if they were their own, and visited us when they moved to Florida. (The photo is me trying--unsuccessfully--to carry him.)We were planning on spending this past weekend with the Widmans, when I received a call from Susanna Friday morning telling me that Andy, a Fort Myers police officer, had been killed in the line of duty 2 o'clock that morning.
Trying to understand why a sovereign God allowed this to happen is impossible. Whether or not a sovereign God ordained this to happen is even more difficult--and the type of question Andy and I would often ask each other. He was a man who never shied away from exploring these tough questions, and I am richer for having him as a friend. Now, all I can think about and pray for is his wife and precious children who are facing a future without him in their lives. This is a burden that only God's grace can help them bear.
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