telfy, danny boy, and redemption

last night, as i was standing in the pews at new denver church singing, i was struck by an incredible thought.  god is good.  and his redemption is available to all of us.  and his love never fails.  oh, and i'm thankful for friends like chris telfer .

telf and i in college, on his b-day...nice stache, brah!

it struck me last night because telfer was leading worship at NDC, the church i work at.  normally, notta big deal.  but last night it was powerful.

it was powerful because telfer and i used to party together.  we met in undergrad, where we worked at an apartment complex together.  we were instant friends.  and we loved having a good time together, usually under the intoxication of a foreign substance.  for real though, we have some hilarious stories: stealing cats, sausages in the model apartment, pondering schemes to break into the liquor store on sunday's (they used to be closed on sundays in colorado..don't worry, we never did), changing driveshafts in the driveway.  the list goes on for awhile.

after i graduated, i moved back to denver.  shortly after i moved, telfer went through a series of life changing events and gave his life to jesus.  he turned down weather forecaster jobs (think 6PM nightly news weatherman) to follow god's plan (i remember watching the nightly news here in denver and seeing telfer on 9-news commercials, haha).

he gave it all up...and went on the world race.  coincidentally, he met his amazing wife jenny on the race, too.

though life happened and chris and i drifted apart for a few years...we'd talk from time to time and i always admired his life from afar.  and when life got tough, he was one of the first i called.  i told him i was thinking about going on the world race (honesty timeout: i thought chris' life change came from going on the world race, not jesus...haha, oopsie).  i decided the race wasn't appropriate yet and continued working my cop job.  

telf and i at ndc...thanks for the pic, jenny!

then i had a life changing experience with jesus.  my life changed.  a couple months later, i went to chris and jenny's wedding.  i was strategically placed at a table with 3-4 world race alumni (thanks god.  shout out: sean smith).

i left the wedding reconsidering the race again.  a few days later, while chris and jenny were on their honeymoon, i left him a voicemail letting him know i was flying to world race training camp in atlanta.

in month three of my world race, chris and jenny flew to romania so chris could lead worship at a world race conference.  as chris and i sat in a cabin in brasav chattin about life, i was brought to tears.  the tears came from thinking about how much god had changed both of us.  gone were the days of partying and searching for satisfaction that we'd never truly find.  enter the days of giving our life to follow jesus christ.  and god had brought us across the world to worship together.  his plans are perfect...and his love never fails.

over the last few years, chris and jenny have been all over the world...and spent the last year or so in houston.  jenny's pregnant (congrats!!)...and they moved to denver a couple of weeks ago.

and last night, as chris sang this song...i was moved to tears.  because, as chris sang...i realized that the lyrics to the song couldn't be more true.  god's love never fails.  never.  and i'm not alone.  ever.  and god will even use guys like "telfy" and "danny boy" in his kingdom.  redemption is beautiful.

here's to you chris: thanks for being an incredible example in my life.  you're a great man who i deeply admire.

and here's to you god: thanks for loving me.  and thanks for your love that never fails.