Keeping Faith through Hard Times
December 4, 2003 was a day of tragedy for the XX family.
Danny and Brett XX went to the boy’s basketball game at Mayer Lutheran High School. On the way home from the game, Danny driving, they dropped off a good friend and headed for home. It had been a cold, winter night and while driving, Danny hit a wet patch of ice and lost control of the car. The car ended up in the other lane and an oncoming car was coming from the other direction and hit Danny’s car. His car ended up rolling three times into the ditch. Brett was pronounced dead at the time of the crash, while Danny died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
This December, it will be three years since Danny and Brett died. At the time, I did not personally know them, but then I met Zach. Danny and Brett were his cousins and Danny was his best friend. I have been dating Zach for over a year now and he and his family have helped me realize that life can change at any moment in time. No matter how old or young, black or white, rich or poor, nothing can guarantee that you are going to live to be old and gray.
Janice (the mother of the two boys) is an inspiration to me. She has helped me through hard times in life, or at least what I consider challenging. I know that I can always go to her when I need a shoulder to cry on, would like advice, or simply just want to talk. To me, nothing could be harder than to bury your own children. She once told me, “It’s amazing how time flies. At one moment, you are holding your precious child that you brought into this world and nothing can be better. Before you know it, you are burying your children and saying good-bye.”
This is only one of the many hard tragedies that I know of. Janice’s brother (Kenny) also lost two daughters in a fatal roll over accident about eight years ago. Also, my aunt Sharon lost both of her sons. I sometimes wonder how they make it through life and Janice informed me that, “You can get through anything by keeping faith at your side.”
I believe that Janice is right. You can get through anything, but you need to believe and have faith. Janice, Kenny, Sharon, and many others who have lost people that they love do have faith, and know that their loved ones are all in a better place. It might not be the easiest thing for people down on earth, but we know that one day, we will reunite with our loved ones and spend eternity in heaven with the people that we love and care about.
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”