Category: Friends

Trevor Heinrich (a life unrivalled)

Trevor Heinrich (a life unrivalled)

The question is not of who won or who lost. The question is why did the cancer have to be such a sore looser? My friend, Trevor is home with Jesus.

It’s easy to say clichés like heaven couldn’t spend another minute without him or he’s in a better place and we’ll see him again one day. It’s easy because they’re true, but it doesn’t make the ache any softer for a wife who finds herself missing her best friend and her lover; her some much more then I could ever ponder. I know the little I knew him in comparison leaves an ache in my chest and tears in my eyes. My wishes to spend more time, write music and sing with him like we planned before the his voice was, for those dreams, silenced. But heaven and hell both know that his voice could not be silenced! He climbed higher then Everest, and reached father then the coast and around the world with his smile, his passion, his joyful exuberance. His faith was stronger than anything I’d ever seen and his gentleness was to the atomic level, only to be rivaled by his compassion like the ocean and his love vibrant and present as color itself. He thought deeply, dreamed wildly, followed his dreams so rigidly and tenaciously, he would push through steadily until the task was complete.

And though I struggle at moments to breath, I can’t imagine the chest of his Family who’s breath can only be replaced as the cries of sadness and grief are retracted forcefully to be followed by silence or tears or choking over the next emotion unable to be predicted or seen. Their family member who’s life on earth was not left unlived has been cut shorter then they would have ever imagined or expected. But his legacy and memories will never fade. He will never cease to be missed. They will know laughter again. They will breath easier, but he will always be a part of them. Grief will never become past tense, but the tension of that grief will loosen its grip for most days.

The thing of it is, we do not want to forget. The future is mourned not because he’s not with this moment, but because tomorrow’s reality is the same as today’s. The dreams made with him are now ours to trail blaze. In his memory, we gaze into what our friend would have done if he had even one more day. We must not waist our precious days in fear of what might happen. What if the things we set our minds to don’t turn out as sweet as we wished them to.

But what will happen when we look at ourselves, years later, in awe of a man who lived his life as closely to Jesus as he ever could, at that’s all we do? Will we not be moved to live more beautifully, love more purely, fight more passionately, and dream more wildly?

Or will we let ourselves return only wishing, but never being?

Trevor has changed my life. The hours I’ve spent with him have been few and far between, but they were rich in beauty, vibrantly refreshing, enlightening and full of permission to dream. I met him in 2015 and I say goodbye on the 24th day of June in 2019.

It has not fully set in, and I can’t begin to think I could scratch the surface of how special he is, but this is my account of Trevor David Heinrich:

He greeted me with sincerity, shared moments intentionally, exchanged art and encouragement mutually and humbly. He dreamed and encouraged me to dream with faith I hadn’t seen, laughed uncontrollably. He rock climbed skillfully and never gave up, pulling me to become better, even before his dream to climb to Everest’s peak. He let me crash on his couch, sat down with me to have coffee, mid hike accross the US as he raised money. He shared his friends in a Bible study and sat with me, embraced me, and affirmed me in the man I was and was to be. We watched a play at Sight and Sound before he would work there. We climbed some more after he had been going more head on towards his Everest dreams. I sat with him after I got him ice cream. We ate it together. It was peanut butter cup. It was supposed to be dairy free, but that accident became his cheat in his week. We laughed so hard, after he said, “This is so good! I can’t believe it’s dairy free!” We looked at the package, noticed my mistake and lost it. I felt bad as his laughter was interrupted by pain and coughing, but these are some of the moments I never want to release. I saw him marry the woman of his dreams. The light in his eyes could have challenged the sun as she walked towards him; when she took his name. I cut his hair, and spent time with him and his wife. He showed me the things that he was still passionately doing. A gift he was making for his beauty. The Kombucha bottle anticlimactically did not explode, but surely made a mess. Stella and him alike encouraged me and showed me true love and sacrifice. I prayed for him as I followed his story. He never let himself get bitter. He never lost his smile; that smile no one can forget. His heart was the purest. I wish I could have spent more time with him. I wish I could go back and play the times we did have, but my times with him are only a sliver his story that show how amazing he is. His legacy will not quickly fade, and his impact will surely never be counted or measured; it will continue to grow day by day.

The cancer took his life on earth, but it did not take his spirit. Trevor won the race. He is healed. He is whole.

Our Birthday: Twin-ship

Our Birthday: Twin-ship

“Do you like being a twin?”

This is one of my most frequently asked questions. I don’t dislike it, as much as I used to. My answer had always previously been something along the lines of, “I’ve always been a twin, but it’s cool I guess…” with fake laughter to follow, attempting to break the awkward silence. Today being my birthday, I get this question about being a twin: “do you like sharing your birthday or not really?” My response was always similar to the answer of the other question. But what are people wondering this for? Usually I would guess because it’s something different; something they either dreamed of or thanked God they did not have; something they’ve always wondered what it would be like.

To me, being a twin is an extra title I often don’t think about. Not because Stephen isn’t awesome or that we aren’t close, but because I identify myself as an individual, not a multiple, and I think this is a healthy thing that I hadn’t always done. I’ve learned to let go of a lot of insecurities through my early adult years (that I am still going through and growing through, at 22.) This was also installed in us at a young age to be ourselves and that it is good and ok to be unique.

The ironic part is as we grow older and separate into much different atmospheres and work places, we seem to be growing a lot more alike. We are both pursuing much different things, but through the same looking glass of Jesus. Our differences compliment the others strengths and our weaknesses keep us humble, yet fully complete. It has been an amazingly diverse and evolving relationship through the years, but has never been healthier since we have both for real taken our human efforts and focused them to Jesus, then others, and lastly ourselves.

Sharing life with Stephen is a blessing I will always cherish and will always be thankful to the Lord for because he’s helped challenge, love, lift up, and walk beside me in this journey of becoming the man I am today. He’s special to me. We evolved from fetal humans to full grown 22 year olds together, never too far from each other, and though we won’t always live under the same roof or possibly even the same country forever, nothing can separate the bond of twin-ship.

Ps. some honorable mentions of twin questions:

Q: Is twin telepathy a real thing?

A: Kinda, but not at all.

Q: Who is older?

A: No comment ( or he might have been born first, but I was conceived first)

Q: Are you identical?

A: No, we are our own eggs. We just happen to look similar.

Q: Who’s the favorite?

A: tbd

Live Music: Nothing Better

Tonight, I attended a long awaited show, to see an artist and I dare say friend, Jess Ray. She was also joint by a few artists that I now am big fans of, Taylor Leonhardt that played alongside Jess, as well as a husband/wife duo, Chris and Jenna. What an amazing night. 
I say all that to intro into the rest of this post to give credit to the ones who inspired these thoughts! If you want to check them out, I recommend them all, 5 star rating!

Something I’ve found to be true every time I’ve heard a band live is what really hooks me is the jenuinness of the artist at hand. I’ve been to a few shows in my life, and some bands I might have even kind of liked before I saw them can turn me off because of their attitude toward their fans or potentials, aka, audience members. 

I feel like most people, if not everyone if they’re honest want to be appreciated and something I’ve loved is the artists, like the four tonight, shared themselves on the stage and off the stage. And that’s a big deal! That’s one reason I love music more then anything else. You get to know a little bit more about the artist you’ve invested in. Also, you get to hear some backstory of some songs if the artist so wishes to share. 

Another thing I love is you might be hearing a song that’s been played before or that you’ve heard, but you get to feel it! You get to delve into the emotion brought by the artist, and you get a performance that can’t be replicated. 

The last thing I’d mention is that you become apart of the piece of music. You become immersed in the middle of a piece of art. Taylor sang her beautiful song Behold, and invited to audience to sing the chorus with her, and what a beautiful sound came from the stage, as well as the people in the seats next to you. At some bigger shows, you might even have a full arena in one voice, unifying, and that really is a magical thing. Music, epecially Live music, brings people together and creates a moment unlike any other! 

Thank you, friends, for sharing your talents tonight. May God bless the rest of your tour stops!(Ps. For real. Buy their music. All of it.)

There’s Something About…


This city is a city I’ve been to only once before. The reason might be clear by the picture, but I joined 3 friends on a quest to the west to see a Pirates game, but of course, they were playing my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves. 

Interestingly enough, the baseball game was one of the smallest highlights so had from the trip, followed only by the three and a half hour drive. 

I’ve found that road trips, events, and even sitting on a couch doing nothing can be made or break, depending on who’s there with you. 

This trip, I was with four people I appreciate and am extremely thankful for their presence in my life. One being family, one being a best friend, another being an old friend, currently living/schooling in Pittsburgh and another being a younger friend that I hope to say (maybe seem to) looks up to me, even though I can prove to be childish at times. 


I say that to say:

  • hold on to those who care.
  • Invest in others, even if you don’t know if they’ll ever invest back, just for the sake of love. Friends like these are just a bonus.
  • Don’t overlook the small and the big moments. They all have an opportunity to impact or even change your life. (I have merit to talk on this. People dressed up in parrogies running around a baseball field on its warning track got me the most excited I’ve been in weeks.) 
  • Play cards (or whatever game they play) with an older person. There’s an exchange that happens that you can’t see with your eyes. You give them hope, they give you wisdom. You give them joy, they give you peace and laughter. You give them time, they give you love. (At least that’s what I’ve experienced, as recently as playing cards with Andrew’s great aunt.)
  • Always wear your helmet and obey your mama. She always knows best!

There’s something about a road trip!