When a Young Person Dies Too Soon

Last night, in Cumberland, a young woman in high school died. Her date, the driver, still clings perilously to life.

We don't like to think of mortality, but it remains a salient and permanent fact of life. It especially seems unnatural and perverse to think of the mortality of teenagers, otherwise so vibrant, energetic, and seemingly indestructible. Parents in particular shy away from consideration of the premature death of children. It is not supposed to be one of our divinely appointed tasks to bury our own, particularly when they are full of life and ready to take on whatever challenge the world presents.

But it is not life that is strong, powerful, and self-perpetuating. Life, regardless of what we wish, remains fragile and fickle. Death remains ever vigilant, waiting for its own opportunity to strike, waiting for us to lose focus for just a moment, so it can step in. This is why we the living must remain thankful to God for every day on this Earth that we have, not only our own lives, but those around us young and old. Just when we get confident that a long life is somehow obligated to us, events prove otherwise and remind us how quickly everything can change. We do have the reassurance from our faith that each soul thus removed goes to the bosom of Abraham to await the final day of judgment, but the loss of that direct connection with loved ones seems more painful than any consolation. We remember only after tragedies like this that we must keep our love long and our disagreements short. You don't want to be caught angry at a person, especially a loved one, when Death claims them from our midst.

We see no sense or meaning in the loss of a young life, but it should compel us to overlook trivial irritations that we see in others and hug our kids just a little tighter. We must not dwell upon the Sword of Damocles that hangs over us all, but we must show our thanks and gratitude for what life we are allowed by living and loving to the fullest extent possible.