The Impact Crater
I cannot sleep tonight for all the thoughts that are bouncing around in my head. I'm hoping if I write them down I will be able to let some of it go. Please forgive my poor writing skills.
I know that many words have been spoken of Scotty Richardson in the past week and many more will be spoken in his remembrance. I know many people are grieving because they knew him intimately. That is not my story. I did not know him. I only know the wonderful things that have been said about him. I listened to his eulogy and all his credentials. As many people complemented the accomplishments of his life, he was truly honored today as a servant of our community. My heart goes out to the family and loved ones who will ever be affected by his death.
The reason I'm writing this is out of selfishness. When you attend a funeral of someone you don't know many things go through your head. I would assume that very few people attending today have faced the very same experience of loss in their life and might truly relate to those sitting in the front row. I would venture to say that most people are grieving over their own experience with loss. For me, the closest thing was my father's funeral. That's the deepest loss I have ever felt. Every feeling is valid and every thought genuine, but I feel that we all are attempting to place ourselves in their place. I stand there envisioning what it would be like to lose the love of my life and the father of my children. Words could not express the vast devastation I would feel from that loss. I cannot pretend to know how that would feel, but I attempt to imagine it. Then I look over at the brother who has just lost his brother, I think of what it would be like to lose him. He goes out daily fighting to protect us from the evil that is out there. He risks his life for everyone in this community. What if I got that call that he had been killed in a cowardly act of hate or by some lunatic on drugs.
I put myself on the front row of that funeral trying to imagine what it would be like to live without the person I love. I cannot say what it feels like for that family. I cannot say what it feels like for that Mother and Father. My feble attempt at trying to relate is like a golf ball falling from a great height. The dent it would make in the soft ground below is the depth of my hurt, and the reality that the family is facing is like a meteor that hits earth. It creates an impact crater the size of Texas in the lives of those devastated by the impression made, forever affecting those who go on living.
I hope that we all take the time to love those around us. To appreciate those who serve to protect us and to thank them when they cross our path. Most of all I pray to God that He be a strength and comforter to everyone grieving today and the days ahead. I pray that if they do now know the God of the universe, that He might reveal Himself to them in this dark hour. Because I don't know how anyone could go on in this world without Him.
The reason I'm writing this is out of selfishness. When you attend a funeral of someone you don't know many things go through your head. I would assume that very few people attending today have faced the very same experience of loss in their life and might truly relate to those sitting in the front row. I would venture to say that most people are grieving over their own experience with loss. For me, the closest thing was my father's funeral. That's the deepest loss I have ever felt. Every feeling is valid and every thought genuine, but I feel that we all are attempting to place ourselves in their place. I stand there envisioning what it would be like to lose the love of my life and the father of my children. Words could not express the vast devastation I would feel from that loss. I cannot pretend to know how that would feel, but I attempt to imagine it. Then I look over at the brother who has just lost his brother, I think of what it would be like to lose him. He goes out daily fighting to protect us from the evil that is out there. He risks his life for everyone in this community. What if I got that call that he had been killed in a cowardly act of hate or by some lunatic on drugs.
I put myself on the front row of that funeral trying to imagine what it would be like to live without the person I love. I cannot say what it feels like for that family. I cannot say what it feels like for that Mother and Father. My feble attempt at trying to relate is like a golf ball falling from a great height. The dent it would make in the soft ground below is the depth of my hurt, and the reality that the family is facing is like a meteor that hits earth. It creates an impact crater the size of Texas in the lives of those devastated by the impression made, forever affecting those who go on living.
I hope that we all take the time to love those around us. To appreciate those who serve to protect us and to thank them when they cross our path. Most of all I pray to God that He be a strength and comforter to everyone grieving today and the days ahead. I pray that if they do now know the God of the universe, that He might reveal Himself to them in this dark hour. Because I don't know how anyone could go on in this world without Him.
Very well said, Gena.
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