Memories of Rad

I was lucky enough to hike the TCT with Rad and our good friend Richmond. It was honestly the most special and magical 3 days I've ever spent in the back country. I got to share a tent with Rad during this trip and I can't remember exact conversations we had but I'm sure they were both meaningful and intentional. Our first night we camped out at Lake Solitude (don't tell on us) and Richmond played a song called "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe and it brought tears to my eyes then. The meaning to this song has transitioned for me as Rad has transitioned into Heaven. The lyrics are "I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side, I can only imagine what my eyes will see, when Your face is before me." Rad is completely surrounded by God's glory now and he is living in freedom like in this song. The second time I cried on this trip (lol) was when we were hiking up to the tram and I played "Soulshine" by Warren Haynes. The sun was beating down on us, we were feeling defeated, and ready for a waffle. The moment we shared when this song came on was a quiet moment, but a special one I can't put into words. The lyrics are "He used to say the soulshine, It's better than sunshine, It's better than moonshine, Damn sure better than rain, Hey now people don't mind, We all get this way sometimes, Got to let your soul shine, Shine 'til the break of day." I think Rad radiated this "soulshine that day and every day he lived here on this earth. We were all so lucky to be able to have some of the soulshine rub off on us while we were with him.