Friday we got a phone call after 11 PM. It was from the parent of one of Rachael's friends, a lady I know fairly well. One of the young ladies from camp had died. I was told that her dad found her "not breathing", and she couldn't be revived. There will be a memorial service tomorrow, about an 90 minutes away. I plan on going, taking Rachael and three other young people. One will be staying the night tonight. Rachael just learned a little while ago chatting with a teen from this girl's youth group that she had hung herself. That puts a whole new dimension on things. I did call the mom whose daughter is spending the night tonight to let her know. Her daughter is emotional to begin with, and I didn't want her finding this out tomorrow at the memorial service and freaking out or anything. Rachael was handling things pretty well until this. Carl and I had our Bible Study tonight, but I stayed home to be with Rachael. So please pray comfort on the friends and especially the family. They've got a hard time ahead of them right now. Also pray for wisdom tomorrow for me in the car going down and coming home, interacting with these young people.
Is it for real that she hung herself or a rumor? I am praying for comfort, and for people not to be as teens can and in thier ignorace to facts cause emotional harm to the family. I will pray also for this family to either get to know or come closer to God through this time and not away. HUgs to yoru dd cause it has to be hard for her even if she is handling it well. Hugs to you to deal with it with the gals! Also as youa sked for wisdom!
Thanks! Things went very well. I had four teens and another mother riding with me. The service went well, though LONG! The luncheon afterwards also went well. The kids all sat at a table with their friends from camp, Rachael met the sister of one of the boys, and it was really hard to get them to leave. But by the time we left, the kids were ALL doing so much better! Oh, and on the way home, one of the young ladies is public school. The only boy in the car started talking about homeschooling (since he's a recent hs graduate!), and the two of them had an interesting discussion. It was interesting listening to the opposing views and how they were defending their opinion! I did jump in with a "middle of the road" view every now and then to keep them calmed down. (ex: "God needs Christian kids in the PS to shine His light!" Well, yes, and I've no doubt that you do an excellent job of doing that and that God has you there for that very purpose.... Or "PS aren't such terrible places and...." Well, I've heard your mom talk about the ps you attend, and it sounds like a really great place. You are so lucky to go there! But the district we live in isn't like that at all, and.... (At which point her mother jumped in and told her that in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that if they lived in THAT district they would NOT be in ps!!!) LOL!!! I also explained to the young man that parents that prayfully considered where to send their kids and felt God telling them to ps them, then that is what they should be doing. And that prayer can cover all the "terrible" things he's heard about ps.
I am glad it went well, it realy is so hard to discuss and get through some things like deaths of friends with kids.
I am just seeing this now...so sorry. I am happy your children are doing better. I pray this experience will serve to strengthen their walk with the Lord and at some point be a blessing to someone else.
You know, I've also been through a tough time like this. In highschool my best friends father hung himself in their garage and they found him when they came home from school that day. It's extremely sad. I am sending soooo many prayers towards everyone involved!!!!!!!
