A Candlelight in Central Park
By the time you get this issue of Release and read (if you do read) this little essay of mine, I will have celebrated my fortieth birthday. In my mid- to late-twenties, I had some romantic, highly exaggerated notions about an early death – taking off at thirty-three – joining the company of Mozart, Foster, Jesus, and other immortals who checked out in their early thirties. But this was a party I didn’t get an invitation to – a gang I didn’t belong in (me not being a genius and all). So, in Chicago I had my own party – celebrating the fun of being alive as opposed to the mystique of having an untimely death.
– Rich Mullins,killed in a car crash at 41 years old
But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It’ll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won’t break my heart to say goodbye.
Category: Quotes
It is eerie. Rich Mullins was one of my all-time favorites. Wept like I lost my best friend when I found out he was gone. He was able to articulate in his songs what I sensed in my spirit but never could put into words … God granted his prayer. Be careful for what we ask …
Great to hear from you, April. I didn’t get to know all about him until after he died. What a loss he was for all of us.