In the face of loss...

No words can describe the immensity of this loss. A beautiful girl has been taken away from us and all we can do is cling to one another and grieve. Things like this should not happen, and when they do it becomes all the more apparent that we are subject to forces other than what we can control.

My heart broke at the news and it continues to ache as I think of all the childhood memories tied to that one precious person. I pray with all of my heart that she is at peace and that there is joy where she is now, for there is none here. It was too early, she was too young, and nothing can now be done but to hurt and to cry and to remember.

There are times when we can only sit in stunned silence as emotions rip through our chests and we wonder at the frailty of life. To wonder at the one moment that can tear away a life from this world so suddenly where we are left with nothing but an empty shell of what once used to be so full of life and love and spirit. There is little that can be done to comfort us when we know in our hearts that our world has been irreparably changed, and not for the better.

To those who knew and loved her, I add my voice to say that Chelsea Garner, you will be missed. I wish I knew you better as a young woman, but I have many many lovely memories of you as a little girl. We played together, grew up together, and made fantastically awful childhood movies together; along with our brothers we would make-believe for hours on end. My childhood was shaped by you and your brother and those games that we played, those summer hours in the pool, and I am saddened beyond measure that you will not be able to share in those joys again.

The day wears on and so will tomorrow, but something in the world was broken that night. A life was cut short and in so happening, all of us will never be the same. We cling to each other and those that we have around us and give ourselves over to the pain. It’s good to grieve. It means that what was lost was important. My heart goes out to you Terry, Jeremy, Joe, and your families. I send to you my prayers for strength and hope. May you find comfort and love in each other in this time of loss.