Not Enough Time...At Least Not Now.

I truly did not get the opportunity to get to know Mike well, but what I saw from him, he seemed like an awesome guy. He always seemed to enjoy life and look at the best in every situation. I am in a different New Testament Literature class, but I heard of the amazing testimony of salvation that he gave. I believe that it was a gift from God of peace that we can have in our hearts, that he is now even as I write this, Mike is in Heaven.
The Bible says in Psalm 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Mike is with God right now rejoicing and praising the Lord for His Goodness. My only regret is that I did not spend enough time trying to get to know Mike. But, in eternity, we will not have forever!!

Mike

Mike I will miss you so very much! Even though I only knew you for a short time you were and are one of the greatest friends I have ever had. I will never forget how every night you would be in our room untill two and three in the morning. There is no doubt in my mind that someday when I look back on the time that I will be spending here at G.B.S that those nights with you will certainly be my fondest memories. It was such a privilage to be your friend. I can not wait to see you again someday in Heaven.
Love ya,
Nick Adams

Mike would come to our room an hang out, and I loved his sense of humor. If you were down or had a bad day, just take a trip over and talk with Mike and he would cheer you up. I told him the other day that he needed to be on the ministerial department, because I always thought he was in the first place. You could see the joy he had, and his constant laughter made a huge impact on me. I always wanted to make plans to hang out with him more, and now I really regret not following through. I'm going to miss Mike but his testimony he left behind has shown me that I've got to stay focused on God's purpose for my life, so I can touch lives like Mike did.

Where are you Mike?
You left us so soon.

But you left us with your love.

You left me with a big smile.
My mind understands that God has called you.
My heart refuses to accept that you are gone.
My mind knows that although we love you,
God loves you more.
However my heart still wants you around.
I know you are happy,and I am happy for you,
But I am sad for my self,
I am sad for those left behind.
Give God a high five for me.

Mike was an awesome guy. I didn't get to become as good friends as I would have liked but he always made me laugh. He always was an encouragement to me. Every memory I have of him is when he was smiling. Thankfully though I know that even now he is still smiling as he sings praises to our King. Praise God that we know we can see him again! Love you Mike!

Mikey you were an amazing guy. I am so glad that I got to become friends with you the past two months. I will always remember how you brightned my day everytime time I would see your big smile or hear you laugh. I still can't beleive you are gone; but I know that you are rejoicing in Heaven today with Jesus and I will get to see you again! You will be missed but I can say that I will see you again one day.

"We feel sad, for what we have lost.

We feel poor, for the empty spaces.

We feel rich, for we have each other.

We will cry, for what we can't have.

We will laugh, for our memories abound.

We will hurt, for the love we can't give.

We will rejoice, for the love we have received.

We will be restless, for our lives are not whole.

We will be peaceful, for we know it is not forever."

~Nanette Hamilton

Mikey, I am so glad that we have the hope of seeing you again someday.

I know I always gave you a hard time about wearing your white shoes after Labor Day, but life is too short to worry about silly fashion rules when you have amazing white shoes like you did. You always looked so cool, and you were always fun to hang out with.

After people pass away, there are always nice words being said about them, like they were friends with everyone, and they were always laughing. Well, that really was you. When I think of you, I hear your voice so distinctly, and your laugh is right there too.

I feel blessed to have known you, although the time was way too short.

No one is ever gone until they are forgotten, and we will never forget you Mikey.

O Death, Where is thy Sting?

Last Wednesday I was sitting next to Mike in English Composition class. I laughed at the jokes he whispered in the middle of class. Today, Mike wasn't sitting next to me anymore, but he was sitting next to Jesus, which is far better.

Today, while meditating on what happened, these verses kept popping to my mind:

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corithians 15:53-57)

I don't understand why things happen the way they do. I think none of us does, but one thing I know and that is that in Jesus we have hope and victory.

See You Later

Mike,
You were a great guy. We don't understand why God does this type of thing. Why did he have to take you so early? Why did you have to go? Didn't God have more work for you to do here so you could stay and share yourself with the rest of us for just a while longer? Why did you have to go? These are the questions that we will ask for a while. But we must always remember that God has a much better plan in mind than we think. No matter what happens to us, we must always remember this. God has a bigger plan in motion. We don't understand why these things happen, and sometimes we question or doubt, but God always has something better in mind. Mike, we will always remember you and the joy you brought. Even though we miss you dearly, we know that you are in a far better place than we could ever imagine. A better place than any of us could imagine.
I am reminded of the song sung by the Nelons, "Christians Never say Goodbye."

Christians never say goodbye,
We only move to our home on high,
Free from pain and never die,
With Jesus we will reign,
A wife may lose her husband,
Or a mother lose her child,
Whatever the case we all can say,
Christians never say goodbye.

Thank you for leading the way Mike, I will follow you home.
I will never say goodbye Mike. I will see you in heaven!

Mike,

Although you were a member of my class, I never really knew you.  You were just another one of the crowd, another member of my big GBS family.  Yesterday, you made me realize how short and uncertain life really is.  You make me wonder, what would I have done differently if I knew your time here was so near its end?  You make me step back and take stock of my life.  Life is so short.   Am I living every moment with the reality that I might never see tomorrow?  Am I showing my loved ones how much I care? Or am I waiting for a better time?  A time that, as you showed us, may never come? 

Thank you for helping me figure out my priorities;  I look forward to getting to know you better in heaven.


Moments swiftly pass, and our loved ones soon are gone,
Thoughts of love we feel, reach the heart but not the tongue,
Words we speak in anger tumble out and cause regret;
Words of love are often never said.  
 
Say I love you while the heart can feel.
Say “I love you” while the hurt can heal;
Make the heart rejoice, give your love a voice,
Speak the words while you can, say “I love you.”

The Smile of Great Comfort

Though I didn't know you like some, you were a light on my dark day. During orientation week I was sitting outside on the sidewalk. I was homesick and you were there to make me smile. The encouragement you gave me, helped me through. The kindness and witness you showed to me and everyone around. Your testimony was incredible, and an encouragement to all. You were a blessing to those that knew you and will be greatly missed by all. Especially your smile of great comfort on the dark days.

Hello, Goodbye

Wow...I have only known Mike for 2 months, but he has really made me feel like a friend. I have half of my classes with him, and I really loved seeing his perky self every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I remember a few weeks ago, he was working on a blog that was due by the next bell. I teased him about being a slacker, and he asked if I would read it before he posted it. So he handed me his laptop, and I helped him with it. Then I got on and posted on it. Just the other day, on Wednesday, we were joking about calling him "Mikey." He was laughing because I was saying it was a cute name. He was really looking forward to reading my English profile. He was SO helpful! I was having problems with my laptop, and he took time to sit down with me and try to fix it. Here are a few lyrics that come to mind:

"Where's the Navigator of our destiny?
Where is the Dealer of this hand?
Who can explain life and it's brevity?
'Cause there is so much here I don't understand" (Michael W. Smith 'Hello Goodbye')

"Even though I'm walking through the Valley of the Shadows
I will hold tight to the Hand of Him, Who's love will comfort me
He will carry me" (Mark Shultz 'He Will Carry Me')

"I will follow You through green pastures
And sing hallelujah to Your name
I will follow You through dark disaster
And sing hallelujah through the pain
And even in the Shadow of death I will praise You
Even in the valley I will say
'Holy, My God. You are worthy of all my praise'" (Selah 'All My Praise')

Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mikey that well. What I have seen of him around campus, he was always smiling, making others laugh, and just being himself. He made an impression that will stick with us for a very long time. We miss you and love you Mikey.

A great loss

Although I didn't know Mike very well, I will never forget him. I rarely talked with Mike, we only spoke directly to each other a few times. When we did speak we never managed a conversation without argument, but strange as it sounds, I've never had a better 'arguing buddy'. Mike and I would regularly intentionally irritate each other about the most random things. We argued about weather, coffee, good qualities, pets, and what color of the visible spectrum was the best. Although we rarely, if ever, agreed on anything, we both enjoyed our funny friendship. The loss of Mike Vollmer is the loss of someone very special, Mike is a friend I will miss greatly.

Memory of Mike

I didn't know Mike that well, unfortunately. When I would see him around campus though, he seemed to always be smiling and ready to laugh. He had a fun, enthusiastic personality and was always ready to talk and joke. In the short time he was with us, he left an impact and many memories. He will be greatly missed.

". . . When I cry, You cry. . . "

Thursday, the 29th of September, was a beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining, and everyone was happy. I finished work and supper, then headed down to the library to do some homework. Because of the slowness of the computers in the library, I didn't stay long.

When I came back up onto the main campus, I noticed that everyone was standing around in groups, looking very forlorn. I ambled over to one group of friends and asked what was going on. It was then that I heard that Mikey had been found unresponsive in his room. Everyone was weeping and praying. When we got the announcement to move into the chapel to find out what exactly was going on, we were apprehensive. No one wanted to hear what we feared would be the case. And we were correct. Mikey had passed away. Our days would no longer be brightened by his presence.

After leaving the chapel, I once again went to the library, in hopes that another computer would be faster than the one I had tried earlier. I was disappointed, however, to find that all the computers in the library are slow. So, I left. Upon exiting, I looked up at the sky and noticed how dark and stormy it looked. I remarked to one person that it was very appropriate. As I walked back up to main campus, it started to sprinkle. The thought came to my mind that God was crying along with us.

When I reached my dorm room, the sky was nearly black, and the wind was blowing hard and furious. Then the rain came down in torrents. How very like the events of the day the weather seemed at that point. Mikey brought a ray of sunshine whenever he was around. He was always joking and making everyone laugh. But with him gone, we were all mourning. Then the song came to me: When I cry, You cry. When I'm hurt, You hurt. When I've lost someone, it takes a piece of You, too. When I fall on my face, You fill me with grace. 'Cause nothing breaks Your heart, or tears You apart, like when I cry." Jesus knows what we're going through, and he weeps along with us, even though Mikey is now rejoicing with Him in Heaven. Though we miss Mikey, he's with God, and he could never be happier than where he is right now.

You Will Be Greatly Missed..

I did not know Mike very well, but I do know that he was an awesome person. Every time I saw him, he was always happy. He was one of those people that was friends with everyone. His death made me realize that we must never take a single moment or person for granted. Make the most of every day, for we never know when we or someone in our life will be snatched from this world.

I love this song, and the words fit so perfectly for this time that we are going through.

"Blessings" by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

We will never know why God chose to take Mike home until we get to Heaven. But I do know that God has a reason for everything that He does. I am so thankful that Mike came to GBS this year. He is now in Heaven - a much better place than this world will ever be. I take comfort in the fact that one day, we will see him again!

We love you, Mike.. You will be greatly missed here on campus.

Safely Home

After work yesterday evening, I slid into my minivan, feeling rather numb after hearing about Mike.  I habitually hit the button to turn on the radio.  Instead of the normal talk radio program, though, I heard this song by Steve Green, a providential reminder of the goodness of God.  No, I don't understand why, but I believe that Mike is "Safely Home."

Safely Home by Steve Green