Stories and Stuff

Stories and Stuff

He Was So Young
by Marjorie Holmes

     He was so young, God.
     So young and strong and filled with promise. So vital, so radiant, giving so much joy wherever he went.
     He was so brilliant. On this one boy you lavished so many talents that could have enriched your world. He had already received so many honors, and there were so many honors to come.
     Why, then? In our agony we ask. Why him?
     Why not someone less gifted? Someone less good? Some hop-head, rioter, thief, brute, hood?
     Yet we know, even as we demand what seems to us a rational answer, that we are only intensifying our grief. Plunging deeper into the blind and witless place where all hope is gone. A dark lost place where our own gifts will be blunted and ruin replace the goodness he brought and wished for us.

     Instead, let us thank you for the marvel that this boy was. That we can say good-by to him without shame or regret, rejoicing in the blessed years he was given to us. Knowing that his bright young life, his many gifts, have not truly been stilled or wasted, only lifted to a higher level where the rest of us can't follow yet.
     Separation? Yes. Loss? Never
     For his spirit will be with us always. And when we meet him again we will be even more proud.
     Thank you for this answer, God.

From: To Help You Through the Hurting by Marjorie Holmes (1983)