Too Young for Tragedy

Well in the flurry of Christmas this week and all the joyous family celebrations we did have a tragedy in our small town. A high school girl and some friends went hog hunting (a really common thing to do here in South Texas) and was accidentally shot and killed. She was a very sweet young lady whom I have known for years at the Gymnastics gym that I coach at and she was in one of Rebecca's tumbling classes.

It was a tragic accident that took the life of a wonderful young woman and completely changed the life of the young people in this town, and of course one young man now has to have this on his conscious for life. It is a very sad situation.

Now this is the first time that Rebecca has realized that death can actually strike the young and healthy. This is also the first time she has had a personal relationship and friendship with someone who has passed, and it has been a difficult Christmas, because it is a hard lesson to teach a ten year old that life can be cut short in the blink of an eye.

This evening John Mark took Rebecca and her friend "C" to the visitation, and then my friend Becky took the girls to the rosary with a bunch of the other kids from gym who were going together. Rebecca came home somber, and sad because they placed the young lady in her cheerleader uniform because it was her greatest joy in high school. Since this is Rebecca's greatest joy in life too, it brought it even closer to reality for her. I know that as the days pass it will get easier for everyone, I just ask for prayers for those in my community, and for a ten year old child who has had to face a sad reality for the first time.