See, within ninety minutes of arriving home from a terrific trip to Nashville, my mother called to tell me my 18-year old nephew had been killed in a car accident.
And now time grinds to a halt. The kindness of people continues to overflow (truly, thank you all) when they ask what they can do to help. My answer is always the same: Speed up time to get to the easier part. Of course that's not possible, and while it's beautiful to see friends and family support one another with presence and prayer (again, thank you all, which doesn't seem sufficient), our heartache continues because we love Evan.
Just this morning a dear friend called me, and all I could talk about was my family's faith, our faith in Jesus, in the Comforter/Advocate that is the Holy Spirit. "It seems so incongruous to say we know God will sustain us, and yet we remain so heart-broken. But these things coexist within us all. And praise God for it. And dammit." All at the same time.
And so maybe these thoughts all work together, after all. During the race in Nashville, a spectator held a sign that read "Run the mile you're in." Most days I would say that sounds trite, too simplistic, and maybe a little corny. But just like persevering through what was a difficult marathon, maybe it's the best way to mourn my nephew, my buddy, an inspiration to many, little Genghis Khan, a young man of God. Rather than speed through this, we need to be present and run the mile we're in.
(Like all good uncles, I love to tease my nieces and nephews. These are two of my favorite pictures, from Evan's fourteenth birthday. I'm sure Mrs. RB and I gave him a "real" present, too, but this was a good prank.)
If you would like to help, you can make a donation to Evan's school for their new gymnasium project. Find more information about that here. Or you can send a check directly to Greenwood Christian School Gymnasium Fund, 2026 Woodlawn Road, Greenwood, SC 29649.
