I would first like to say, "Thank you," for all of you who came to say goodbye to Chris. Before I start, I would like to read a poem that I wrote the night of his death.
At such a young age who would know
That soon after the championship game,
He would say goodbye to us all.
He was the best that he put his mind to.
So why did this have to happen?
At such a young age who would know
That his last words to us all would be,
"Call me in the morning."
He gave us all something to believe in.
So, why did this have to happen?
At such a young age who would know
That the same night, someone would think,
Get in a car drunk, and kill three people.
Took away a son, brother, and friend.
So why did this have to happen?
At such a young age who would know
That the angels would be rejoicing!
God is proud of Chris and he is now in Heaven,
So why did this have to happen?
God can make good out of what happened,
If we allow him to.
If you ask his family and friends, they will tell you that Chris was a strong Christian. He often spoke of the will of God for his life. Chris wouldn't do it if it weren't the right thing to do, even if it was just for fun. And if you asked why, he would say, "What would Jesus think if he saw me doing this, or if He were right here?"
I remember what he told me after his dad's funeral. He said, "It was too sad, everyone was crying. I'm not saying that I don't want people to be sad, but I want them to know I'm in a better place. I'm happy now."
I suppose I want to leave you with this. Chris died knowing where he was going, and we should be happy about that.
I wrote this for our church's Judgment House funeral scene around fall of 2001.