Moving on.
I know what you're thinking. What now? I wish I knew. On Monday morning, my mother will fax over all the documents from the eBay transaction, proving that I am who I am and that I did pay the man $1400. And on Monday morning, I will be praying the most selfish prayer of my life: that a grieving father would be able to blink back his tears long enough to refund me my money.
For a whole week, all I wanted was to know what happened to the young man who sold me the laptop. I just wanted an answer. But now that I have it, I feel as unsettled as I did before. It's true that every day is a new day; this morning I woke up feeling much more renewed that I thought I would be. But for the rest of my life, I will never forget this.
Today as I went about living my life out as I do every day, I wondered why this young man's death was affecting me so deeply. More to the point, why am I grieving over a stranger when just two weeks ago I spoke poignantly at my grandfather's memorial service without shedding a tear? Here's my best answer:
I know something about this world. I may be young, but I'm no stranger. This world is painful, it's dark, and full of lies. The only thing that saves us is Jesus, of course, but he chose people to shine His light through. Good people. People who make the worst days brighter. People who make us laugh, who give generously to the poor, who show compassion to those who don't deserve it. The world needs more of those people. You know this. I know this.
That young man was one of those people. I didn't have to be close to him to know that. I'm somewhat of a people person, and I can usually see into the nature of a person's character. I read the guy's profile. We emailed each other. I read his resume. I spoke to his father and his former colleague. This was a good man.
My grandfather was 94 when he died, and only 1 of his 4 children showed up at his memorial service. None of the other attendants even knew my grandfather; they were friends of my parents. This young man was 25 when he died, and over 1,000 people will flock from all over the North England area tomorrow to attend his funeral. Does that tell you something?
"I'm burying my son on Sunday." *sigh* What is that quote by King Theoden in Lord of the Rings II? No parent should ever have to bury their child. Yes, that's it.
Life is short, isn't it.
For a whole week, all I wanted was to know what happened to the young man who sold me the laptop. I just wanted an answer. But now that I have it, I feel as unsettled as I did before. It's true that every day is a new day; this morning I woke up feeling much more renewed that I thought I would be. But for the rest of my life, I will never forget this.
Today as I went about living my life out as I do every day, I wondered why this young man's death was affecting me so deeply. More to the point, why am I grieving over a stranger when just two weeks ago I spoke poignantly at my grandfather's memorial service without shedding a tear? Here's my best answer:
I know something about this world. I may be young, but I'm no stranger. This world is painful, it's dark, and full of lies. The only thing that saves us is Jesus, of course, but he chose people to shine His light through. Good people. People who make the worst days brighter. People who make us laugh, who give generously to the poor, who show compassion to those who don't deserve it. The world needs more of those people. You know this. I know this.
That young man was one of those people. I didn't have to be close to him to know that. I'm somewhat of a people person, and I can usually see into the nature of a person's character. I read the guy's profile. We emailed each other. I read his resume. I spoke to his father and his former colleague. This was a good man.
My grandfather was 94 when he died, and only 1 of his 4 children showed up at his memorial service. None of the other attendants even knew my grandfather; they were friends of my parents. This young man was 25 when he died, and over 1,000 people will flock from all over the North England area tomorrow to attend his funeral. Does that tell you something?
"I'm burying my son on Sunday." *sigh* What is that quote by King Theoden in Lord of the Rings II? No parent should ever have to bury their child. Yes, that's it.
Life is short, isn't it.
posted by The mini ninja at 12:37 AM
2 Comments:
geez Leslie, I am shocked by all of this. that prayer is not selfish just be prepared that it might take time. I don't ever buy from eBay but maybe you can contact them for help. I will be praying for you and for the young man's family.
Such a sad story. :-( But, I'm sure all will end as it should.
Gab At Les
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