Last night I got two voicemails from former students of mine. I could tell by the way they both talked that something bad was up. I called Jordan at about midnight and he told me that Jared had been in a snowboarding accident and died. Wow. Shock. Jared was maybe 19 or 20 years old. I won't go into the details as I have it only 3rd or 4th hand.
Jared was a total punk in middle school and was the only student I ever kicked out. We had a lot of long talks, but he made it difficult to be the "good guy." Now, I didn't dislike him at all. I actually really liked him. He was very funny and had a lot of life in him. He just wanted to push the boundaries all the time.
When he got into high school God grabbed a hold of his heart and things radically changed. I kept hearing this news from several people over the years. It was almost hard to believe that this was real, but I know that God breaks through tougher hearts than his.
As I do each year, I camped out overnight one year at Best Buy on black Friday and Jared called and asked if he could hang out with us. He did. We all had a great night and it was good to hear his story. god really has grabbed his heart and he has responded. We have many common connections, so I hear things from time to time and smile.
In talking to his dad this morning I think the reality of his loss hit me. I can't imagine losing one of my own children. I have been in a bit of a reflective place recently and I have been reflecting on this the last 14 hours or so (Karston was up all night sick and I was up with him).
Life is short. even if we get 100 years on this earth. When you put it in perspective of eternity, it is nothing. Jared had maybe 20 years with us. Who knows how much time we get here. I think most of us have this mentality of, "That will never happen to me." I know I do. That makes me think about how I am living my life. How am I treating other people? How am I using my words? Am I encouraging or tearing down? What am I doing with my time? Do I have compassion for people? Am I taking advantage of talking with people about Jesus? Am I missing out on opportunities because for some reason I get nervous when I feel like the Holy Spirit wants me to talk to someone about Jesus?
Again...I am going to make a difference. (read my old blog)
God has a reason for everything. He may just want Jared with Him now. I don't know. I think there are a lot of things we don't have answers for and won't have answers for while we are here on earth. I need to be OK with that. That is part of the mystery of God and part of faith.
See you shortly Jared.
