I was blessed in college to meet some incredible people. Mike, my roommate for three plus years, was the greatest gift of all. He was an inner city star from Detroit and I was a suburban kid (in some ways still am) who grew up in an extremely wealthy church.
Our first trip together that first year was a canoe trip on a relatively tame river--tame for me who loves white water rafting--frightening for him who doesn't even like to swim in a normal pool. I should point out that he was not alone in this fear, most of the my african american teammates were in the same proverbial boat.
About halfway down the river the water began to get rough. We were entering an area with sharp rocks and unseasonably low water, not a good combination. One of the assistant coaches at the time waved me over and encouraged me to "keep an eye on Mike. This is a first for him,and I'm not sure how comfortable he is." I agreed, proud that the coach had asked me to keep an eye on our small college's prize recruit.
A few moments later the water turned for the worse and it was all I could do to stay in my canoe. I navigated over to Mike's canoe which was now stuck between an overhang branch and a muddy bank. The water was moving surprisingly fast and he was beginning to get real anxious. "Grab on to my paddle," I said with over-confidence. As he did his momentum (and adrenaline) exceeded mine and he pulled me right out of the canoe and into freezing, rushing water.
I managed to avoid the real dangerous areas the next quarter or mile or so...going down the river on my rear end. Needless to say, I suffered a few impressive scrapes and bruises. Mike thought that was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. The white guy trying to be the hero (David Hasselhoff perhaps) and I ended up traveling up the creek without a paddle or a boat.
Something changed in our relationship after that event, as mundane as it might have been. I started to see the similarities between Mike and I, instead of the differences--and believe me there are obvious differences (Mike is a 6'7 attractive african-american phenom athlete). I guess both of us realized our humanity bonded us more than our skin color.
Many more obstacles came over the course of the next four years: questions about our faith, social injustice, manhood, etc. We learned to navigate the waters, rough or smooth, together. Mike taught me so much about the heart of Christ...a blog could never capture that experience.
I hope to spend some time next week during Thanksgiving with Mike. I love the prayer that concludes "Cold Mountain" (one of my top ten favorite movies): "For good friends, family...for all our blessings, we thank thee."
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