Groomsmen Part 7: The Italian Stallion. Not if. But when.

Antonio Vincenzo Pucci. (POO-CHEE). Also goes by Tony Pucci and or Pooch.

Pooch was one of my roommates at Truman and was a slot receiver with some dynamite route running and catching capabilities. I am gonna miss throwin corner routes to him very badly. Like the other two dudes who were my roomies over the majority of my college time, I deeply treasure my friendship with him. I know that no words I write will do any of my groomsmen justice as to how much they mean to me, and this post will be no different. But its worth a try. 

Pucci was a constant reminder of the constant presence of Jesus in my life. And he too understood my heart and struggles, because he had the same heart and endured the same struggles.

But the thing about Pooch that I love most is his deep desire and longing for something better. 

Now this Desire of his is also one of the things that pisses me off the most about him. We could have the best 5 course meal in the history of college thanksgiving dinners, and he would still manage to say something like, "The turkey was good, but a little dry."  "It would have been perfect if we had stuffing" Or even "The green bean casserole was too soupy" 
Now, at first it seemed like Pucci was just nitpicking. And I'm sure there is a part of it that is just nitpicking. But upon further review, the ruling on the field has been over turned: The man simply knows deeply how life is supposed to be. He knows the kind of life and joy God handcrafted his heart to experience. Anything less is well, not very satisfying.  Pucci is driven by desire, driven by his desire for joy, love, laughter, tender thanksgiving turkey, and a meaningful life. 

I can't help but look back on all of our times at Truman and see that suffering was the classroom God used for our divine education. And lets just say the Father taught us both quite a bit. I read that sentence and I cringe. Yet I know how essential suffering was to our growth and development as men. Its kind of like working out a muscle. To achieve the greatest muscle growth and to adapt the greatest strength, there must be a tremendous amount of stress put on the muscle. The muscle must suffer, must fail and fatigue to adapt and become stronger. At the time its not fun, but suffering has been the one thing God has used to produce the most goodness in Pucci and I's lives. 

Anyway, much like myself, Pucci's time at Truman was littered with suffering. He lost a close friend to an unexpected death. His football career was less than satisfying. 

Its safe to say Jesus understands how Pooch felt. He too lost his cousin and dear friend, to a brutal beheading even. Jesus' own brothers doubted who he was, didn't believe in him. Another close friend betrayed Jesus to his death. Throw in the exhausting death march and 6 hours hanging on a cross and I think we can agree Jesus suffered. The question I have is how did he live his life so well in the face of so much suffering? 

The answer is Desire. His profound, deep, unshaken desire for his victory. His desire for the Life and freedom of people like you and me. His deep longing for his homecoming reunion with his Father. Desire is the driving force behind Christs life. 

Much like Jesus was, Pucci is a man who lives from the desires of his heart, the desire for more goodness, more joy. A rather risky but utterly holy way to live. Pucci has stolen a page from Jesus' book here. 

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I have longed to bring you to myself..." (Matthew 23:37)

"And Jesus said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this meal with you." (Luke 22:15)

Jesus is indeed a man of profound longing and desire. His heart overflows with passionate desire. 

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long list of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" (Hebrews 12:1-2, the message)

Oh yes. Jesus knew where he was from, and he knew most importantly where he was going. He was Gods dearly loved son, and he was on a journey to reunite with his Father in victory after he defeated the evil one once and for all. He was on his way to a joyous homecoming celebration in which he would be deeply honored and rewarded for his sufferings. It was this joy set before him that kept our Savior going. 

I see the same thing in my friend Pucci. Now I am not saying every time adversity or tragedy hits Pucci handles it perfectly. I am not saying that each time he endures a season of suffering, he immediately puts his hope and desire in the day of his complete restoration and freedom. What I am saying is this: Puccis deep longings and desires are good, holy even. His honest and willing heart that is so willing to thirst and hunger and want more is something I deeply admire about him. Because it too will be the driving force of his life. Like Jesus, the deep desire of Pucci will allow him to walk through any suffering this life has to throw at him, and come out a better man on the other side. But most importantly, Pucci's deep desire and longing for Life, Joy, Intimacy, Love, and a meaningful life will ultimately lead him, rather violently to God. 

And if he lets his desire take him to the Father, there is no question he will live a very powerful life. If he lets his desire drive him home to the Father, he indeed will live life to the fullest. 

Excuse me. Let me correct myself. When Pucci lets his deep desire drive him to the Father, he will live a very powerful life. I already see in him the heart and desires of Christ. There is no doubt in my mind about the kind of joyous meaningful life he will be living in 10+ years. 

It's not really a question of if, but when. 

And that's why I love him. 

Groomsmen Part 6: CRH III

Charlie Ringo Heinzmann. The Third. The man, the myth, the legend. He was by far my closest friend in my time at Truman and is splitting best man duties with Jack Klein in just 8 short days. 

I mean, you know when a guys middle name is Ringo, you got yourself a gem. In all honesty, this has been one of my hardest posts to write. For the simple fact that I know words can do no justice to the value of my friendship with him. So, instead of beatin around the bush I'll just get right into why I love old Chuck Ringo. 

Charlies from the picturesque town of Metamora located in the beautiful state of Illinois. It is a mirror image to my hometown of Kearney, just slightly smaller in size. The town revolves around the high school and its athletics teams much like Kearney. And they love their football in Metamora, having a storied winning tradition much like Kearney. We are from the same type of town, and we are the same type of guys. 

Charlie and I both enjoyed some success in our high school football careers, and brought with us a common attitude to Truman State Football that went something like this: "I'm gonna start for 3+ years and show these dudes what it takes to win. I'm gonna be a reason Truman Football turns things around." 

And though Truman had their first winning season in a while this past year, it didn't exactly happen how Chuck or I thought it would. Neither of us started as quickly as we desperately wanted to. We didn't enjoy team success or the turnaround we wanted. And Charlie tore his ACL. Twice. 

Even though I was fortunate to not have any serious injuries in my career, It's safe to say Charlie and I shared very similar frustrations and setbacks regarding football. We came in with the same mindset and attitude, and were disappointed by the same things. I won't go into any details, because quite frankly the details do not really matter. What matters is this: Charlie understood exactly how I felt. He understood with perfection my every longing, desire, dream, and let down because he had the same ones. This is, in my opinion, one of the most tremendous qualities of Jesus' personality. I'll let Eldredge take it from here:

"A notion has crept into our perceptions of Jesus. And this notion has done great damage to our experience of him. Its the notion that Jesus was really ''pretending'' when he presented himself as a man. We hold fast to the belief that Jesus was God. The heroic actions and miracles of his life attest to it. So, when we read the more human moments of Jesus' life, we feel that Jesus was sort of.....cheating. With a nod and a wink, we know whats really going on...Einstein just dropped in to take the first grade math quiz. Mozart is playing the flute for the kindergarten choir. After all, we're talking about Jesus here. The guy walked on water, raised Lazarus from the dead. He never broke a sweat right? But what about that terrible sweat in Gethsemane? 
Then he went to Gethsemane. He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here with me." Jesus said to them. And then he fell down and prayed, "Abba Father, if its possible, take this suffering from me." And being in anguish he prayed more fiercely, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Mark 14:22, Luke 22:44) 
Deeply distressed. Overwhelmed with sorrow. Anguished. This doesn't sound like someone cheating to me.He begs his Father, with tears, that this cup might pass from him. he doesn't want to do it. Sweat like blood puring from his tormented brow. Does this sound like Einstein adding two and two? 
Jesus was human. Really. When Jesus gets word his cousin and dear friend John has been beheaded what does he do? He takes a boat, leaves the crowds behind, and sails some place he can be alone. The man needed to get away, needed to grieve, just as you would. I cannot say this more emphatically--life affected Jesus. He never did anything halfheartedly. When he embraced our humanity, he didn't pull a fast one by making a show of it. He embraced our humanity so fully and totally he was able to die. God can't die. But Jesus did. 
It will do your heart good to discover Jesus shares in your humanity....The more we can grasp his humanity, the more we will find someone we can approach, know, love, trust, and adore."  (Beautiful Outlaw)

Now all of the 3 amigos (Pooch, Dusty and Chuck) had this characteristic as well. But Charlie embodied this piece of Jesus to a deeper personal level for me. Like Jesus, he didn't just take on my struggle, he knew my struggle. Knew what I was feeling, what I was going through, what I was fighting against. To have such a friend that knows exactly how you feel is unspeakably valuable to the human heart. 

You don't have to be misunderstood. Ever. Jesus got pissed. Jesus laughed. Jesus farted. Jesus got hungry and thirsty. He needed to sleep. Jesus cried. He felt loneliness, rejection, longing. He felt the whole range of human emotion and feeling. Joy, weakness, sorrow. 

Chuck was a daily reminder of my Jesus friend who understands me exactly and perfectly. And that's why I love Charlie Heinzmann. 

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity....Jesus took on flesh, and made his dwelling among us. (Hebrews 2:14, John 1:14)