Eulogy

This was Phil's wonderful testimony for Christian and our Lord.

Remarks at Memorial Service: Aviano Air Base, Italy, Hangar 1
November 14, 2007 10:30 A.M. Phil Skoglund


When Captain Skoglund was born on August 2, 1976, we named him Christian. That was our highest hope for him – that he would become one of Christ’s men. We have watched that happen to a greater and greater degree as the years have passed.

Christian loved what God loves – His amazing creation - the earth, the sky, the awesome experience of mountains and water; but even more – he has loved and enjoyed the people the Lord has brought into his life. My wife Kay and I and his three siblings – Maja, Erik and Lars, his wife Liz, and many, many friends and family, have enjoyed him for 31 years. He has brought incredible warmth and always unpredictable excitement to our life in lots and lots and lots of ways. The last, and best of all, was this time in Italy with his wonderful wife Liz as they loved life and each other for these last 16 months.

We are very thankful for Christian’s opportunities in the military. He loved flying and he loved his fellow soldiers. We have been so impressed by the “military family” and their love and support. But there’s a bigger reason for my thanks. In this environment, everyone knows what it means to be under orders. It’s not just a specific responsibility but being in a state of accountability. Because of his army life, Christian has learned in recent years what it means to be under orders, not just from his military superiors, but also under orders from his loving Lord. The joy and winsomeness that you have seen in him are due to the fact that Christian embraced His command heartily.

We have heard from lots of people: military both here and around the world, many rugby players, fellow students from schools that Christian has attended, extended family,and they all say that he was a person “who was comfortable in his own skin, that he was able to stand alone in a crowd while still loving people and enjoying the situation.”

Here’s why. Scripture is clear that God makes each of us uniquely and carefully according to His design. We are never complete and truly fruitful until we cooperate with that design, and we never know that design until we relate in humility and submission to the Lord of life. We are created by Him and for Him. Christian understood that, and his actions and commitments in life were all part of his commitment to being the man that God wanted him to be.

For some time now, since Christian has been assigned around the world, our times together have ended with a hearty, “See you later!” Sometimes “later” is months or more, sometimes just tomorrow morning, but we never say “Good-bye,” it’s always “See you later!” That is no different now. It’s just that Christian has left this life, so “See you later!” may take a little longer. Christian has been so many places around the world where I still have not been, and may never be. Now he’s gone ahead to one more new place but this time I know I will join him someday. We are convinced that for those who “believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord,” this is our future. In fact, eternal life, the gift of God, is an abundant life that begins at the moment the soul awakens and acknowledges the Savior. Christian has shown us all a little taste of what it means to live abundantly!

We grieve because much of what we anticipated in this life can never happen. We grieve because there is a tremendous hole in so many lives where Christian lived. We grieve because we know that our path to the next “See you later!” may be longer and more difficult than any so far, BUT we do not grieve because we are without hope, or that we have lost him forever. God’s grace will be sufficient for this life, and God’s promise will carry believing hearts into great joy. Praise God for His manifold gifts to us that have come to us in and through Christian Skoglund.

To all of you, I want to say thank you for all that you have meant to Christian and to us…

and to Christian, I want to say – SEE YOU LATER!!