Carol David "Dave" Messick was born in the farmlands of far northwest Missouri on August 7, 1949. His was an idyllic "Waltons-style" upbringing. Second born of six children, Dave's mother and father demonstrated to their family what they taught: hard work, ingenuity, and honesty (as illustrated time and again as his father would sacrifice needed income to be sure his word and good name were never compromised); gentleness and kindness, and a deep, abiding love and respect for God. Dave was free to roam the hills, where his love for and attention to nature began. He grew up hunting, target shooting, fishing, baling hay, competing for the straightest ploughed rows, and learning animal husbandry skills. His favorite pet was a 3-legged dog named Rennie, who followed Dave everywhere. In high school he loved and excelled in track and field. His pastors and teachers in his hometown of Fillmore greatly impacted his life. After becoming a Christian as a young boy and sensing God's presence for so long, he began to experience a spiritual dryness in his preteen years. This shy boy mustered the courage to knock on his pastor's door for counsel and never forgot the advice Pastor Don Lewis gave, that we do not base our walk with God on feelings, but upon faith that comes through truths of God's Word. That lesson never left him right up to his final breath.

After graduation Dave moved to Kansas City and worked to save money for college. He lived blocks away from President Harry S. Truman and enjoyed witnessing his morning walks. Dave quickly learned the ropes at Sutherlands Lumber Company, and the position transferred him to Houston, Texas, the following year (1969), where he attended Gulf Coast Bible College (now Mid-America College in Oklahoma City). David met his wife Cindy during his freshman year and the next year initiated a courtship by presenting her with a little bundle of wildflowers tied in a rubber band. This annual tradition continued throughout their 49 years of marriage, as yearly he would present his "bride of many years" the first springtime paintbrushes he spotted. Dave and Cindy were married in her home church in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on July 15, 1972.

For several years Dave worked as an outside salesman of wholesale building materials with Houston Sash and Door until Houston's building crisis of the 1980s, when he transitioned to a new trade and started Star Appliance Service. Through the years he came to be respected in the industry as a skilled and impeccably honest businessman. Dave's trade allowed him to use not only his natural mechanical ability and analytical brain, but also provided an opportunity to enter peoples' lives through his acts of service love language. Numerous customers are grieving the passing of not only their technician, but their friend.

Dave and Cindy happily served in local church settings throughout their lives together. They have years of history working in church bus ministries, teaching Children's Church and Sunday School, adult classes, founding and working in a Christian School, as well as homeschool support groups. As a nature enthusiast, Dave excelled in presenting memorable hands-on lessons with spiritual truths from God's world. He also served many years as a deacon. Christchurch Baptist Fellowship has been their home church since 1987.

Dave was a man with many interests and pursuits. In the 1970s he was a much-sought-after fast-pitch softball pitcher, playing on City of Houston leagues. He loved seeing life through the lens of his camera, a hobby he never set aside. He loved chess, his guitar, studying maps, mowing his yard, and doing his

own oil changes. American history was his passion, and he continually read writings from Pilgrim and Puritan fathers, studied his Geneva Bible, and meditated on the writings of Charles Spurgeon. Two favorite books in addition to the Bible were William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Dave loved target shooting and participating in gun clubs. His idea of a perfect getaway was a 10-mile trek in the mountains or rugged 4-wheeler or Jeep adventures. He once excitedly jumped off a Bavarian Alps mountain as a paraglider and flew solo while glider flying in Hawaii. Dave and Cindy reveled in their many vacations, and Dave reflected fondly on these times as his life began to wane.

If asked the highlights of his life, Dave would have been quick to point to his salvation, his marriage to the love of his life, and the births of his children. He was a natural daddy with the ability to enter into the children's play. He gently instructed, disciplined, and loved. Bedtime serenades with his harmonica are a favorite memory. Hard work and sacrifice, without complaint, were the norm of his life. These highlights were framed against a backdrop of love and respect for his parents and siblings. His 94-year-old mom, up until his final days, would call and sing his childhood lullaby, "Little Man, You're Crying." Dave is the fourth of her six children to precede her in death.

During their empty nest years, Dave and Cindy began to visit coffee shops weekly and post blog-like "Coffee Talks with Dave." Dave's passion for coffee and photography, his love for scouting out new territory, and enjoyment of being with his Cindy made these outings a special delight.

His was a steadfast love of Christ. He knew to whom he belonged. His life was marked by consistent, daily prayer walks and talks with his Savior. He maintained his heart before the Lord as carefully as the best gardener would his garden. Qualities of meekness, forgiveness, and compassion were evident in his life.

The old hymn, "Arise, My Soul, Arise" became Dave's anthem after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He memorized every word, sang it, and finally whispered the words hours before his passing. His prayer was that he might be a faithful soldier of the Cross and that God would be glorified. In a text to a friend he wrote, "My strength is slowly fading. No complaints, no regrets, just preparing for the next valley. To GOD be praised." His passing was marked with the radiant glow of Christ upon his beautiful, smiling face, all signs of suffering washed away.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1&2

By faith, David ran his race with patience and finished his race well.