What I learned from Rob

I was thinking about all the closest friends I've had.
I came to the realization that the ones who made the biggest impact on my life were usually named Rob.
Weird. None of them liked being called Robert either.

When I was 16, I met Rob Logan. His mom was a "Jesus Freak". He had a Datsun B210 Wagon that we would drive to Lynnhaven Mall and pretty much everywhere else. We were skate rats together. He showed me I needed to shave my face and cut my sideburns so I wouldn't look like a scrub. He's a firefighter in Florida now.

When I was 23, I met Rob Taylor. We were in the Marines together. They called us Big Taylor & Little Taylor. I'm 6feet, 220lbs andI was Little Taylor. He was a center for his college in Kentucky. Big boy... But he hated being called, "big" because he thought he was fat. He wasn't fat. He was just like 6'5" and 275. When we ran, he would always push himself so hard he'd yak.
However, he never broke stride... just turned his head to the side & called Ralph in Europe.
Rob obviously taught me about how to push yourself beyond what you're used to.

He always had that look of disapproval when he knew I was screwing up. I liked that. He never said anything, but you knew he was thinking, "when are you gonna wise up?".
Rob died of cancer a few years ago. That really hurt. In fact, it still hurts.
Rob re-dedicated his life to God about a year before he passed. I guess I'll see him again.

While I was in the Marine Corps, I met another guy named Rob.
Rob Butler.
He was my closest friend. In fact, He and Rob Taylor knew each other.
Rob Butler taught me to enjoy Christian music and that it was okay to be Christian and be real.
He was a Christian and he was real. Sometimes he was a real jerk. But so was I.
He and I worked together. I would always take an idea and run with it until it failed. Rob would research first. When it looked like I was doing all the work and he was just sitting back doing nothing, it always ended up being his plan that we would put into action.
I guess he taught me how to do your homework before you go running off into nothing.

So far, that's all the Robs. I've got a neighbor two houses down. His name is Rob. He's turning out to be quite a good friend. He's not heavy into church stuff though. I just find it interesting that eery conversation we have, for some reason, always gravitates toward God's love.

Weird.

I guess we'll see what he teaches me.