Death's just one of those things you never get used to. I mean I suppose if people were dying all around you, day in an day out, you'd become accustomed to it. But for the average Joe, I don't think we ever get used to death, dying, and destruction.
Eating lunch and browsing/stalking (whatever you want to call it) facebook this afternoon, I came upon a status saying "RIP lil keith." There's a guy involved in my church youth program (now an adult, so really a helper with the youth program) named Lil Keith...
I scrolled down and saw another status, also from someone at my church, also in remembrance of a Lil Keith.
I kept scrolling down.
Another status, and another.
I texted my friend, Karen.
Lil Keith was dead.
My first thought was that he'd been shot, since he lives (I think) in the ghetto. He used to, at least. Or spent a lot of time there. He wasn't shot. He just died, out of the blue. In the middle of a basketball game last night he collapsed, his heart stopped its beat of life, and he was gone.
I didn't know him that well, but the news still struck me and saddened me. I used to know him. A few years ago we went on a missions trip together to Arizona with my church youth group. It was an amazing trip. The team was fantastic, we all got along, and we had a wonderful time together. But that was years ago.
Lil Keith wasn't very little. Actually he was pretty big. But he was smaller than Big Keith. I remember him always being at youth group my junior and senior years. Maybe sophomore too. I can't remember now. He and Big Keith were the life of the party, part of the group of kids from the Delmar area that Otto brought to the church every Wednesday night.
I've always been glad our church was like that. It wasn't just the church kids on Wednesday nights, we had a very diverse group. I feel like that really encompasses what New City Fellowship is about. Reconciliation and love and acceptance, being like Jesus, and Jesus loved everyone.
But back to Lil Keith.
He was loud-in-a-good-way and funny and had a great personality. As far as I could tell, everyone loved him. I never knew him super well, but he was a great guy from what I could tell. And from what I've heard from people today and seen on facebook status', he was a really great guy. Karen's facebook status said, "Keith was hilarious and encouraging and sometimes really frustrating and a great leader for the teams and a good friend to so many people. and he was only about 20. i don't understand it, keith, but I know God always brought good things from your life and I know He'll still do it now."
I think that's probably a good way to sum it up. And I don't know where he was spiritually when he died, since I never had those sorts of conversations with him, but Karen and Otto (our youth leader) and others are quite sure he had put his hope in Jesus. And so I plan to see him again in heaven.
Death always seems like such a bad thing. I wonder to myself, how could this happen to someone so great? Someone with so much potential? Someone who had a bad past and was stuck in a place that many people never get out of, but was instead making something of himself? A good guy? I wonder that. How, how could God allow something so bad to happen to someone?
Then I realize. Death isn't a bad thing. Not for someone who believes. Maybe really it was a blessing, a gift. Keith doesn't have to deal with the bad of this world anymore. No more pain, no more hurt. No more bad relationships or getting sick. Nothing. Instead he gets to be in the best place imaginable, with the absolutely most wonderful Jesus ever. And that's not bad. That's beautiful. So my hope and prayer is that Keith is up there with Jesus right now, making Him laugh with made up words like "gword," which he made up on a missions trip in Arizona just a few years ago.
RIP Lil Keith.
No comments:
Post a Comment