I went to the funeral home today. I was paying my respects to the family of an 18 year old boy who was killed in a car accident last Thursday. Generally, when you hear about such tragedies involving teenagers, you assume that speeding, drinking, texting, or carelessness must have been involved.
Sadly, this boy was just waiting to make a left hand turn when someone rear-ended him and the impact pushed his car into oncoming traffic. I can’t imagine the guilt whoever hit him must feel. These things never just touch one person or one family. The ripples stretch far.
His mother told me that, even though her husband and she didn’t go to church much, their son attended every week. Regrettably, our church is so big that it’s hard to know everyone well. I wish I would have known him better.
I’m sure you can relate. Guilt about what we could have, would have, should have done seem to always be swirling around us these days. But the tragic death of this young man is another reminder that we need to live life to the fullest, that we should be more kind, more loving, more faithful to God and others. The other day, I blogged about compassion. Can we ever be too compassionate?
I don’t know when he wrote it, but the poem below was written by Eric, the young man who passed away. It was printed on his memorial card. The lines show the potential of a life cut short. May he rest in peace.
Fingerprints
People come and people go,
Moving forward and back,
Following their paths,
Crissing and crossing,
Crashing and colliding,
Like marbles on the sidewalk,
Some stay for life,
A few have their cameos,
And many spare a passing glance,
As they pass,
Everyone leaves their own…
Splash of spirit, stroke of rage,
brush of flame, Spray of envy,
We’re each a graffiti wall,
Waiting for a painter,
To leave their mark,
People come and people go,
Walking on by,
Leaving fingerprints behind,
