Suddenly, I am interrupted by the sound of our seventeen year old daughter screaming, “Mommy, Mommy” as she burst through the front door of our home. I knew something tragic had occurred, I knew Alexis was in a state of shock and hysterics. Her body was rocked with sobs, finally she mumbled a broken sentence of pain….all I heard was “killed himself last night”….Alexis and Tyler were informed before there shift today that their friend and co-worker had taken his own life last night. As Alexis goes from tears to disbelief, Tyler’s eyes are wide and wild trying to comprehend. I feel, guilty, devastated, and nauseated. This young man, in a word was adorable. Our whole family loved him, I think most that knew him loved him. Tyler and Alexis marked how fun work would be that day based on his presence alone. In is mid-twenties, tall, handsome, popular, funny, and full of life and energy. The kind of guy that flirted with old women and for the time made them feel young and beautiful again. The kind of smile and charm that made you giggle when you saw him from across the room. This sweet boy just a week ago was concerned for my recovery, and shared with me in a most casual way about his addictions and pain of his past. At least it appeared to be his past, cleaned up, back in school, in love with a pretty little
girl, with loving parents by his side.
What went wrong, and how did we miss it? I feel as if I have been punched in the stomach, and I am in no hurry to numb the pain. The reality is, someone was dying right in front of me, and I missed it. The generation I am called to just lost a warrior, a young prince. The enemy stole from us a son, and we missed it.
