Gone too soon

It is hard to fathom looking at this picture taken from a New Orleans cheer competition last February that in a little over 4 months one of these young people would take their own lives. Scott Crosby the boy on the far left next to my Emily apparently commited suicide yesterday. The ripples of this sad decision extend outward and are seemingly unending. Sadly, this is the second time this week I have known someone whose world has been devastated by suicide. Both acts are just senseless and sad but somehow a young person feeling at 17 that he needed to end his life seems sadder than a middle age person doing the same.

I remember this young man bounding onto the stages at all the MGA cheer competitions this past season. He would jump 3 feet off the ground pumping his fist in the air and my memory is of a boy with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He was one of the cheerleaders responsible for keeping my Katie up in her stunts. She had to trust him to catch her when she came down and seeing that the gym awarded him its Ironman award at the banquet in May for his ability to keep up any stunt, he was worthy of her trust. I can still picture Katie doing a swing dance with him as part of the routine to the tune of "Greased Lightening."

It's hard to understand what would make a young boy with his whole life ahead of him feel as though he had no future and was better off dead. It is a reminder to me of the lack of perspective that young people often have and how quickly they can make a decision that forever changes their lives and the lives of those who know and love them. As with many times in life it is one where I struggle to understand. It is a time that the only comfort available for me is faith and prayer. Faith that God heals the broken hearted, those who knew and loved him, and prayer that they will know the love and support of others as they face many difficult days ahead.For my own children, I hope that they will turn to God for his strength as they struggle to make sense out of this terrible tragedy and that faith will be their strength for facing future struggles that come to them in this life.

It makes you wonder seeing the outpouring of sadness from so many why he was not able to feel how many loved and cared about him. It is a reminder to those left behind to show love and gratitude to one another because once someone is gone it is too late. It is also a lesson in how much one person can mean to those who love him or her and how you should never take that life for granted. Rest in Peace Scott you are missed and for your family and friends we look for God's comfort and strength as we remember you.