Saturday, May 2, 2009

We Love You Kit ...



Life Lesson from Kit
(written by Karen Johnson)


1.Share the Love Boldly --Kit cared about what mattered to others and every person was a potential friend no matter where they were at in life, he could always find a connecting point; even while he was getting chemo he was making friends.

2. Weep with the Weeping --Kit had an innate empathy that few men have, and he could communicate that compassion through a hug, a word of insight or encouragement...and he would follow-up later to see how you were doing with that. He was able to go to the depths with people, and give them hope in the valley of shadows.

3. Go, Go, Go for the Gusto --whether it was running, biking, singing, preaching, or teaching apologetics, Kit did it with passion and dedication. He was a man of live action. He had many interests and careers. He reinvented himself over and over again. There were few wasted moments in his exuberant life.

4. Fail Out Loud --Kit would openly share with us his failures, missteps and foolish choices. He could laugh at himself, and also model how to back up and change the course of your life when you've taken a wrong turn.

5. Kiss Your Wife and Kids --I always loved hearing him talk about his kids, or should I say "rave" about his kids. He adored them without reservation or shyness, and the feeling is mutual. No adolescent anger here, these kids were well-loved and loved their dad right back. His loyalty and appreciation for Shelly was also inspiring. You never doubted Kit's love or faithfulness to her.

6. Be God's Best PR Person --I never met anyone who was so bold at communicating the Heavenly Father's deep and unconditional love for his children. Not a hell-fire or judgement-preaching pastor, Kit opened the book of love for us. Kit's message, repeated over and over again, was this: "Your Heavenly Father loves you so much, He accepts you, He yearns for you, His arms are open wide to you, open yours to Him."

7. Tie Yourself to the Mast and Ride the Storm --Kit was able to weather the storm of cancer, never wavering in his confidence in God's goodness, because he had spent so much time in the Word. His testimony was even more powerful because, as he lay weak and in pain, he would confidently assert that God loved him, that Heaven was held for him, and that whatever God wanted was good enough for him.

Thank you, Kit, for being such a shining example of an overcoming faith and a successful life. You leave a legacy by the way you lived and I am going to try to follow in your footsteps. We love you and miss you.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

12 comments:

Karen said...

Just beautiful. Thank you Liza for posting this. It helps us to share the moment. So precious.

James Taylor said...

AWESOME!!! I could feel the presence of both Kit and Jesus...and both smiled and stated ...this is good!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you sooo much Liza for this great slide show. Aloha Lahi Lydia

Yeshua said...

I was so honored to be a part of this today. Jon-Jon said, "you like paddle?" I replied, "it would be an honor."

Thanks Pete and Carrie for making this weekend possible!

Beth said...

Miss you and love ya Kit! What a legacy you have left behind!

jimmy hunter said...

Very nice Liza, a real tribute to Kit. I cried watching it. Thank you.

michaelandciara said...

Thank you so much. I would love to put that picture that you took of Mikaela on our blog.

Anonymous said...

So accurate, and well written. Thank you Kit and thank you Karen.
Love, Lynne

Anonymous said...

Words can't express how special of a person our good friend Kit is...however, this tribute from Karen got really close. Thank you Karen for expressing what we all feel in our hearts about this awesome man of God. Kit's passing truly is a big loss for our island.
Craig Englert

Ron and Barbara said...

Thank you Karen and Lisa for posting this and keeping this blog going. It was good to hear from Craig also.

Lisa, I wonder if you could post the pics to picasaweb?

Anonymous said...

My dear Karen the words are beyond anything I could ever come up with.
I cried and laughed. We should all be blessed to live a life like Kit did. He taught me so much in the few years we knew him. I will miss him. Till we meet again! I know he has so many to look after.
I think you are an amazing person to Karen. Love Nick and Sharon

LaDonna said...

Thank you Liza and Karen..Even as life has lead me from the islands..Kit and his lessons have stayed in my heart. I will carry him with me always, he had such a huge impact on my life. Karen you really captured the true Kit!!! Love you and miss you