Peb and I became friends only in recent years. Fall 2021 I asked him if we could sneak away for an early morning outing, simply to smell the mountain air together. We soon after found our way with close friend Matthew Ayersto a remote deck in the mountains 45 minutes from Colorado Springs and enjoyed a few hours of espresso, views, and other libations. We hiked to the spot and enjoyed the uphill slog for some of what Peb called “excursion that does me well”.
What I remember from this time and many others with Peb is his deep curiosity about my life. My thoughts. My dreams. Despite his qualification to take the stage of storyteller, he pulled stories out of me I’d forgotten from decades past, and helped me see with deep clarity why these were important lessons I would need to lean on again in the future. He pastored, joked, and prodded all in a effortless grace of conversation. He saw right through the masks and insecurities of others, and got straight the heart of the matter in a way I had not encountered before. He was happy, grateful, full of stories and life, and overflowing with encouragement.
Peb gave me encouragement and advice I needed at that time that no one else had quite been able to articulate. Peb gave me a model for what someone with his personality and passion can live like: Fully, humbly, courageously, generously.
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