Readings from Matthew's celebration...

I am Ron Lunsford,

Matthew was a friend of mine, I knew him for six years . He was a carpenter who helped me on several projects. After a very short time I began to know Matthew very well, we became friends, when Matthew needed a place to live; I rented him one of my houses.

I knew Matthew in some good days of his life and in some of the most trying days of his life. I was there for him when he was hurting and needed a friend to give comfort, and I was there to be his mentor when he needed a kick in the pants. In addition, he was always there for me often on a minutes notice when I needed him.

Matthew was a talented musician, a gifted carpenter who could frame, trim, pour concrete, lay tile, hang drywall, pretty much a true Jack-Of-All-Trades.

He was a gregarious person who was noticed immediately upon entering a room, he was funny, often surprisingly humble, and was the most generous person with his time I have ever known

Nevertheless, apart of all that, the two things that come to my mind when I reflect on Matthew’s life are:

No matter how bad the times were for him, when he had no work, or had some other crisis in his life or family, work, health, Matthew would always respond the same way. Hey Matthew how’s it going? "I am truly blessed." I must have heard him say that one thousand times. Oh, Matthew was often a little off color with a remark, some folks did not get Matthew, but I did, he often had turmoil but he always recognized God was in control. The other thing is this, Matthew has worked on many projects in my house, a bathroom remodel or adding on to the deck, painting a room or repairing damage from an insurance claim. Many times, I observed him at the beginning of his shift. First thing he would do is open a pocket sized bible read a verse then set the tiny bible on my work bench in the garage and have a cup of coffee (by the way they were always mega cup sized) and then work through out the day. He had many good and bad days but when he was working at my house, he always started with a verse from his tiny little Bible. I suppose that was built into his day wherever he was. His tiny little bible must have laid upon many workbenches over the years. I am glad I saw that, I am glad to know that when no one was there, and no one was watching That Matthew started his workday with the Lord.

Matthew if you can some how hear me know that many will miss you, And that your life touched many others. God Bless you buddy.