Rob and Melissa’s Amazing Friendship

{This is a guest post from our friends Rob and Melissa. Rob was David’s college roommate. Our friendship has stood the test of time and distance. We might not see each other very often, but it seems like not a day has gone by once we do see one another.  Rob and Melissa have encouraged us, prayed for us and supported us over the years and we value their friendship immensely.}

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We met David in 1987 at Purdue University. It was a chance meeting for he and Rob, and Melissa met David a bit later in that year. Rob and David quickly became friends, and we all spent a lot of time together in our years at Purdue.

One of our nightly routines was watching Star Trek as a study break at 10:00 pm sharp. Sometimes David would be running in the door at 9:59 pm, with his backpack and bag of tacos asking, “Am I late?” (remember, there was no DVR back in the late 80’s).

As Trekkies, we are familiar with the Kobayashi Maru, which is a Starfleet Academy training program, simulating a “no win” situation. The choices are to save your ship or the ship you are trying to rescue, but both cannot be saved. James T. Kirk, Captain of the Starship Enterprise, rewrote the program in order to rescue both. He did not believe in a no win situation.

When we got the call about David’s accident, it shook our world. The odds were not in his favor, but we knew if anyone could beat those odds, it was David.

David knew the situation was dire, and he later told Rob that he knew he had to have faith and a positive attitude to win. He also told us that he was glad he was the one on the ladder, instead of his boss, Clyde. David knew he would survive his injuries, but Clyde may not have been so lucky.

This was David’s Kobayashi Maru. He rewrote the program of his mind to allow God to guide his way through this journey. David was open to all of the prayers, and well wishes being sent his way (from literally all over the world). He went into this with “shields up, phasers charged, and with a full complement of photon torpedoes,” fed by his belief in God.

After the accident, David’s manual dexterity was limited. When the surgeons were discussing reconstruction of his hands, David kept pushing for more mobility. His are hands of service, and he wanted to be sure he could continue to use them for God’s work.

He had to learn to use his hands again, and in more creative ways. This was yet another Kobayashi Maru for him. He could give up or he could find ways to do the things he loved and continue to serve others with his hands. He adapted wood working tools, and learned to cook again, all driven by the desire to use his gifts to help others.

In times of need, people often want to turn to prayer, but don’t know what to say. It always seemed to us that when David prayed, he talked to God as a friend, not a stranger. God has been an integral part of David’s life for as long as we have known him.

When we are looking for an answer to prayers, we have David and Carly on speed dial. Their friendship with God has served as a reminder to us that maintaining a daily dialogue with Him is imperative; not only talking to God, but listening to what He has to say to us.

Even though our faith backgrounds differed, we began to learn we were brothers and sisters in Christ. David was very active in his church in Brazil, IN, even when he was at Purdue. He would drive home on weekends to participate in activities with his church family. More recently, we remember David and a group from church going to New Orleans to serve food to those assisting with Hurricane Katrina relief.

We are truly blessed to have David and Carly in our lives. They remind us that a daily dialogue with God and nurturing of that faith will help us face any situation, especially our own Kobayashi Marus. There really is no “no win” scenario when you have faith in God, and know that His plan is greater than anything we can imagine.

With love and prayer,

Rob and Melissa Kleber