Visitation

Jennie and I attended the visitation for the three people killed in the automobile crash this past Sunday. It was a heart-wrenching experience:

The line to see and be with the dearly departed extended outside the funeral home.

Kieran

As soon as we got to where the caskets were, I saw Kieran. She was dressed in a nice outfit, wearing a baby hat. A baby blanket was placed over her. Sunday was her one-year old birthday. She was born and she died on the same day, one year exactly. We had met her parents before when they visited our church with Sarah and Bill. Her parents are in their early to to mid twenties, and they remained beside her casket as people came in. Kieran's mother clutched one of her daughter's stuffed toys, and both she and her husband openly wept aloud. They said they were grateful that they had her for as long as they did, but it was obvious that there would still be a lot of grieving.

Sarah

The next casket down was Sarah's. She was only 22 years old. It had been awhile since I'd last seen her. I believe it was late last summer, at their oldest son Kade's 3 year old birthday party in a park. The funeral home did a wonderful job with her makeup and outfit. Yet, for some reason, I could tell she didn't look the same. This gave me a little bit of an idea how horrific the accident was.

Hayden

In the last casket was Hayden, Bill and Sarah's youngest son, 20 months old, born just six days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He looked different, too from what I remember. He was dressed in a "little-man" outfit.

Bill

Bill remained by his and Sarah's caskets. He said that he had been going through a cycle of emotions. I told him that I didn't know what to say. My mom had given me an envelope with some words she'd written for him. I handed it to him, and he placed it in his suit jacket.

Good Can Come From This

If there can be any good to come from this, it may be that the two babies never had an opportunity to grow up and reject God. Sarah had been a disciple of Jesus Christ, and we can pray that her heart was right with God.

Memorial Poems

Inside the memorial flyers, along with the details of the three individuals, were two poems that I'm going to post: Little Angels and I'm Free.