Rich Mullins, gone but never forgotten

I just read a blog that mentioned September 19 was the 8th anniversary of the death of Rich Mullins. I still vividly remember learning this horrible news--it was a Saturday, and my wife (then fiance) and I had just pulled into a Target parking lot. I was turning off the car when the radio DJ shared the news that Rich had died in a car accident the previous night. My wife got out of the car while I sat in stunned silence (very unusual for me). The radio station went to a commercial, so I got out of the car and walked with my wife into Target. I couldn't have been 10 feet into the store when it hit me. My eyes welled up with tears. I was devastated.

Life does go on. Two months later I was married, and a month after that we moved to Atlanta. The music and memory of Rich is still with me, though. Long after my Amy Grant, 4 Him, and other crappy christian music has been sold off or given away, my Rich Mullins CDs remain. And every Christmas morning we have a family tradition--I play "You Gotta Get Up" loud enough for the neighbors to hear it.

One of my few regrets in life is that I never saw Rich Mullins live in concert. It's been a while since I've played his music, but fortunately this Saturday I have a full day of work on a remodeling project. It'll be nice saying hello to an old friend.