Here is a slightly edited version of my comments…
first memory of Martin Lovatt’s name was from my grandmother. The
Lovatt family had moved from Whangarei to Auckland and
had rented our family home while we were in India. On one
home leave, Martin had just vacated a bedroom which I then occupied. As
she wandered down the hallway and looked in my room (more
property manager, than grandmother at this moment), she said… “I
wish you’d keep your bedroom as tidy as Martin Lovatt kept it.”
when I returned from India for the final time, that Martin
and I became friends.
Gradually
our lives became entwined…
endured my cricket and I endured his tennis…
court somewhere on our way to winning the men’s doubles title
at the Mt Albert Baptist Tennis Club.
was on the basketball court where we had our most fun together.
was so fluid, so naturally athletic and, let’s face it, so cool.
was far better than I at retaining his sanctification
periodic efforts to dispose of Northcote Baptist Church.
wander down Wellesley St during our university days
spend our student allowance on steak sandwiches.
the demise of my culinary skills, it should be placed on record
it was I who actually taught Martin how to make an Indian curry
on his way to becoming the great chef that he was.
Barby came out to NZ that first time,
became engaged and then headed off to Cape Reinga
a road trip with Martin and his Mum.
remember arriving at the Edwards’ bach in the Bay of Islands
so many tamarillos that, in preparing them
their subsequent encounter with the ice cream and then our bellies,
and I had to use a bucket rather than a bowl.
George Benson, Billy Joel … and Chevy Chase leading the way.
able to show my India to Martin.
never able to show me his Tata Beach in Golden Bay.
marvelled at the work of his hands:
the sketches & paintings:
two for me that hung on the walls wherever we lived:
the family home just up the road
other of the old church in Russell;
then the working with wood and the graphic design.
both crossed the waters to be Best Man at each other’s weddings.
traveled from Auckland to Chicago.
traveled from Auckland to Nelson.
11 days older than me, Martin’s
middle name is Roy, mine is Royston.
on many flights these days, there is not enough space
my boarding pass for my full name – and so, across the top, I wait to see
will just say Windsor, Paul Roy …
because I kinda like it when it does that.
named our second son after Martin.
said to our Martin not so long ago that
he was ‘a symbol of our friendship’.
is also the prayer that God might use
brand of genetics to graft the qualities
Martin the elder into Martin the younger
Barby and I have loved watching the evidence of this happening.
level these are the kinds of comments expected
from a friend at a memorial service.
have to say they are not the first things which
came to mind – special though they are.
I think of my friendship with Martin,
immediate thoughts are of two profound truths in the Christian journey.
is that we carry the image of God in us.
the other is that Christ is formed progressively in us.
On an
occasion like this it is wonderful to say of my friend:
me of the way God is.
& love Jesus that little bit more.
was loyal
the time I’ve known Martin – he has lived within a few kms of this spot.
I’ve been a bit of here, there and everywhere
that is always a challenge for a friendship).
everywhere’ was never Martin’s concern.
same combo:
smile, the warm eyes and the committed hug
worked to sweep away the time and the distance.
stable, loyal rock of a friend whose steadfast love did not cease.
was gentle
outspoken. Not aggressive.
Not brash. Not
needing to be the centre of attention.
the impulse to listen, rather than to speak.
loved watching my kids warm to him at the different stages of their lives.
wrote to me this week, simply saying:
a doubt, Uncle Marty was the kindest, gentlest man I have ever met.’
soothing.
burdened
his gentle, humble heart did provide a little rest for the soul.
loyalty of God, the gentleness of Jesus was reflected in Martin’s life.
was good
recent years Martin and I were part of a men’s breakfast group
ask about his health & the family.
questions would be asked.
so good in the way he drew us in,
giving us the opportunity to be part of this journey.
every time, this brightness would come over him when
the subject shifted to us.
wasn’t absorbed in what was happening to him.
wanted to be there for others. He remained so interested.
took our little challenges, by comparison, to heart
attentively and then praying fervently.
some of the most difficult places in the world today,
little response together:
the front: ‘God is good’ with
the people responding: ‘all the time’.
from the people: ‘all the time’ & from the front ‘God is good’
times I’ve struggled to find God’s goodness in all this.
remember reading a psalm with Martin in the car outside his home.
the wrong psalm’
words felt hollow. So few of the assurances seemed true for Martin.
started skipping phrases and then verses.
home.
was ready to rip pages out of the Bible.
Psalms and of the God to whom they direct us
that we can turn over a few pages
and
find a psalm that expresses just how we are feeling.
of God’s goodness is that he is not unhinged by those feelings.
fact, the Bible says that ‘in our distress, he is distressed’.
evil.
the goodness of God is seen most fully in his restorative plans
and for creation as we move into the future – a place Martin has reached.
these plans will come to pass
plans that come to us as pictures in Revelation.
tent over them.
again will they hunger
again will they thirst
will be their shepherd
will lead them to springs of living water
their eyes.’
Gentle. Good. How
many of us could bear witness to the same three?
is what Martin brought to friendships. I
knew it truly. I knew it deeply.
And
it is in the loyalty and goodness of God and the gentleness of Christ that
Martin would want us to place our confidence as we
try to move forward from this place with him alive in our memories and hearts.
Roy Windsor
About Me

the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
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Thank you Paul.