Memoria

I can’t sleep right now. Josephine and I have been talking for hours (she’s finally dozed off). I’m here just gathering my thoughts on the day, reflecting on the beautiful memorial service for Todd Kennemer.

The whole service was a tapestry of Todd’s life. Everything fit perfectly, from the pastor’s reflections and message to the worship songs and musical tributes played to the videos and photographs shown. It’s hard to say which was the best part of the service. For me, the pastor’s message was so concise, yet detailed enough to capture several snapshots of Todd’s life and personality for those of us did not know Todd very well as well as remind those that did know him of the intricate facets of Todd’s life. The message had a unique introduction, tying in the location of the service and relating it to personal life transformation. The service was held in the old Mann theaters, which is now The Church at Rancho Bernardo. The theaters had undergone changes over time, changed ownership, and were now transformed into a beautiful house of God. From that metaphor, the pastor led us through a reflection of Todd’s life; he pointed out three descriptive words about Todd: musician, influencer, and wrestler (not the athlete, but as in “wrestling with God”). I think there were actually four words, but sadly my memory fails me at this time. I think the missing word was “friend” and it came before the final word, which was “wrestler”.

But as much as I loved the pastor’s message, the most inspirational part of the service was a song that was written and performed by one of Todd’s friends named Heather. I think the song may not have a title right now, but in the program it was simply called a “Requiem for Todd”. The young lady who performed and sang had such a beautiful voice. The words were so fitting, simultaneously conveying both the overwhelming joy that Todd is experiencing in Jesus’ presence as well as the anguish and sorrow we feel here on earth. The bittersweet words of the chorus rang out, “I wonder if there’s music where you are? . . . I bet you’re you’re strumming your own rhythm on your guitar. I bet there’s music where you are.”

The video tribute was also very nice. It did had lots of pictures of Todd from throughout his life. I’m glad it turned out nicely. I tried my best, calling old friends that might have known Todd through the years from all across the USA, having them search through old photographs to contribute for the video. I provided two VHS tapes; both were used in the video tribute, providing brief clips of Todd performing (1991 Green Valley Church talent show) a lip sync and dance to dcTalk’s “He Works” as well as Todd playing electric guitar with me leading worship at New Hope Church (~1995 or 1996). I especially liked the way the video ended, with the words (most likely a play on words): “Let Him Change Your Life” and “Let Him Impact Your Life”.

And so I believe, along with the hundreds of people who showed up today, from family, friends, and old teachers of Todd, that Todd’s life was not lived in vain. It was obvious that he impacted lives for Jesus. And though his death rings a sad tune in our hearts, his eternal life beckons of all us who were there to renew our spiritual life and make an impact like he did.

So after spending a couple of hours talking with people from the old Green Valley Church days, I went back towards home to eat some much needed lunch. But silently in my heart, I made a recommitment to rebuild spiritually and to dust off the cobwebs on using my talents for God. I went to the Guitar Center near Costco and bought some guitar supplies: new stand, couple sets of strings, and some cleaner. I broke out my beautiful guitar, which still looks brand new, replaced the rusted strings, and played for about 15 minutes. What song? Easy, my favorite.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2005 at 12:47 am and is filed under Life, Reflection and Spiritual. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.