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On a cold wintry day in November 1993, my daughter and I experienced one of the saddest days of our life together, a day that will be etched in our minds forever.
Just walking into the funeral home and seeing so many teenagers sent a chill through our bodies that matched the cold outside. There must have been at least 200 or more teens in the room. Usually when you see a large gathering of teens it would be for a pep rally or party, but not today. They were here to say their final goodbye to their special friend, Kevin. (Names have been changed for the sake of privacy.)
As my daughter Michelle and I got closer, I noticed Kevin's brother (who survived the accident) and two sisters to the right of his coffin. One had only to look at their faces to see the horror and shock of disbelief that this event was really happening-that their brother Kevin was dead and lying in a coffin.
As I looked over to the left, I saw his parents sitting on the front row and reached out to hug them. I was at a loss for words. What could I say that would take their pain away? There were no words to reach for, no magic expression to make everything seem okay. How do you bury your 17-year-old son? How do you let go and say goodbye to your precious child?
It was clear to me as I looked around the room of people sobbing, young and old, the question going through their minds. It was the same question going through mine. Why? Why did this happen to Kevin? He was only 17. He had his whole life ahead of him. Why? Not long afterward I was to ask myself the same question once again. The answer in both cases provides a powerful lesson for us all.
Some months later the question of why surfaced again at the graduation ceremony of my son David. Something happened that brought the whole audience to their feet with resounding applause.
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Other Articles by Janet Treadway
Re-published from an earlier version
Keywords: teens and chances accidents teens and accidents laws, broken death, premature broken laws teen tragedy
God's law - individual: