True Tragedy

Once upon a time in a land not so far away, there lived a family that homeschooled their three daughters and one son. The oldest daughter was 12 years old and my friend. We shared a passion for Jeanette Oke books and riding horses. When my family moved to Not so Far Away, we had to sell our three horses because Mama wanted to live in a neighborhood instead of out in the country. So I loved to visit my friend's house and her horses every once in awhile. Her middle sister was the same age as my little sister. They would play together when we visited. And her youngest sister loved to pick my Mom's pockets for candy. She was adorable. In my mind she will always be that precocious four year old although it was more than a decade ago. The middle sister was very quiet and sweet. She had long blonde hair and a gorgeous smile. I honestly can't remember ever talking to her directly although I'm sure that I must have.

I haven't seen the whole family in probably five or six years. The mom and the oldest daughter attended a friend's wedding shower this summer, when I was still pregnant. We made small talk. Her mom asked if I'd been married long while eyeing my belly. My mom cooly replied that I'd been married for three years. We found out that the older sister was working with her dad. The middle sister was engaged to be married. Life seemed pretty good. I didn't think much of it at all.

Early this week, the middle sister was thrown off of a horse and suffered severe trauma to the head. She worked on a horse farm that teaches children how to perform for competition. Apparently she was very good at it. Later that afternoon she died in the hospital. The funeral is today. She was only 22 years old.

The whole community is still in shock. I can't even imagine what her family and especially her fiancee must be going through. How can you even begin to explain why this happened? It seems like such a devastating blow. I believe that she's in heaven because I've seen the faith of her family. Even without knowing her very well, I have no doubt that she lived for Jesus. The thing that troubles me though is that she had just reached the brink of womanhood. She missed out on so much joy and pain. The best day of my life was my wedding day and it seems so tragic that she died within a few months of her own special day.