Memories of Daniel

Writing has always been so very refreshing to me. It is relieving, enjoyable, and sometimes even therapeutic.  This writing (blog) will share moments of joy/blessing, but it is coming to you as a means of therapy for myself. Please indulge while I pour out my heart on this page.

Today I received the message that a very dear Christian friend, Robyn, lost her 20 year old son, Daniel, in a car accident last night.  Grief immediately overcame my soul as I sat here thinking about the many/varied thoughts/feelings that my sister will face in the days ahead.  I am reminded, once again, of the brevity of life and how precious it is.  In the N.T.,  James said it best when he reminded us that "life is a vapor, it appears for a little while and then vanishes away."  For some of us, the vapor disappears at an earlier point than others. This is the case today for my friend's son, Daniel. I feel so incredibly blessed to have had the privilege to know/watch him grow up as a young child and to spend time with him in the summer of  '09 as he began his journey into adulthood.

Anytime I feel a sense of loss, I take the time to sit and reflect upon all of the many memories that I shared with a person. The first memory I have of Daniel is a picture I have of the 2 of us in our first house in NC. At the time, his mother was not yet a Christian, but she was attending the services of the church very regularly with her husband (Keith, who was a Christian).  Robyn and Keith were studying with our preacher at the time, Monte Hampton, and John/I were blessed to have Daniel spend time with us on this night.  He was 2 years old, it was 1991. This picture is so silly and the memory even sillier.  You see, this was before John/I had children of our own and we were undergoing infertility...so for us to have a toddler in the house was such a joy.  We enjoyed the nights that it was "our turn" to watch after Daniel! Daniel was not your typical toddler. He was very big for his age, had a great sense of humor, and SO smart...I mean this kid was obviously gifted! The picture is of me reading a book to Daniel and he found these really silly green larged frame glasses and put them on my face while I read to him! I am quite a sight and he is just laughing! I remember that night-can't believe it was nearly 20 years ago!  The second picture memory I have of Daniel is the year that we all lived in Germany together. Poor Daniel was the "only" boy in the bunch of our kids...besides Daniel-Robyn/Keith had 2 girls (our girls ages) and of course so did we.  But, Daniel never let that stop him-if there was fun to be had-he was there! I have some actual scrapbook pages of all 5 of the kids trick or treating together in 1998-Daniel was Robin Hood...and boy was he a good one! The photos that mark that night have been in my girls scrapbooks for nearly 6 years. It is so precious to me that of all of the pictures I could have chosen to put in the girls scrapbooks-I chose the one with the Rogers kids/my girls going trick or treating.  I chose it because it was a special time in our lives together-but now it will be even more precious for other reasons.  The final picture memory I have of Daniel is right in my facebook pic albums.  I had the blessing of traveling to NC with my girls in '09 to see many dear friends there.  The girls/I stayed at the Rogers home for 2 days. I stayed in Daniel's room because of course he was already away at college living in the dorms.  However, Daniel did come to visit that weekend (as he always did) so that he could help his Dad conduct the worship services.  I had the blessing of hearing Daniel preach a bible sermon for the first time that morning.  It was not Daniel's first sermon, but it was my first time to hear him speak.  I spoke with Robyn later about how proud I know she had to be...he had become such a well rounded young Christian man.  In honors college, planning to go to medical school, so much biblical knowledge to share, so much love for God and his family, etc...  I got to talk to Daniel as he shared pictures and favorite memories of the trip he/his mom took to Italy, the summer before, to celebrate Daniel's graduation from H.S. Daniel talked with me about his job at Starbuck's on the campus and how he was able to bring his mom (a HUGE coffee lover) home a cup of fresh beans from time to time. We ate lunch together and then I insisted that we take a few photos together.  I took one of this precious family, our dear God peeps, the Rogers sitting on their couch in the LR on that Sunday after the worship services. This is the picture on facebook in my Trip Out East album.  Daniel washed his own laundry and packed his things back up at the end of the weekend and said goodbye as he headed back to campus that Sunday afternoon after lunch. This was the last time I saw Daniel. 

Interesting thing is, there are all of these picture memories I've shared about Daniel, but there are so many more memories I have of him.  Most of them came through stories that his mom, Robyn, shared with me each time we had the opportunity to talk on the phone-which was every couple of months.  She was so proud of her son, her firstborn.  She has 2 daughters and she's very proud of them as well.  But, I always likened Robyn's special affection for her son to be that special bond between a mom and son that I've witnessed in others.  I remember the phone call when Robyn shared that Daniel had obeyed the gospel and was baptized into Christ at a very young age. I was not surprised because Daniel always had a tender/compassionate heart and was so very conscientious-2 very admirable traits. They were living in Germany at the time, but we had already returned to the U.S., we rejoiced together over the phone!  I remember many conversations that Robyn and I had about a girl that Daniel was dating.  She was not a Christian, but he taught her the gospel because he knew that was the most important thing he could do to show that he cared about her.  Daniel was always such a good influence on those around him.  He stood out in a crowd-took a lot of ridicule from other students because he wasn't a party guy. He was a serious student that wanted to do something for his future-not waste his youth away.  Daniel really was very mature beyond his years-even from a very young age. He lived his life with serious reflection upon bringing God the glory in all that He did.  Now Daniel has gone on to his reward, what he truly lived his life for...with purpose! There are no tears or pain for Daniel.  He will await the day that his Mom, Dad, and sisters will join him in that glorious home above where Jesus reigns.  I plan to join them all and what a sweet reunion that will be.  

My thoughts are with my friend Robyn because I know that her heart is shattered. I watched my grandmother bury my Mom nearly 10 years ago.  It broke my grandmother's heart and she is forever a changed person.  All I could say to my grandma on that day is "Thank you for giving me the blessing of such a wonderful mother.  Without you giving birth to and raising such a wonderful woman, I would not have had the privilege of being raised by her.  So many people in this world do not have good mother's, I did for 34 years and I thank you."  To Robyn I say, "Thank you for sharing a piece of Daniel with me.  For raising such a strong young Christian man that demonstrated that there are young men that want to live for the Lord and put Him first in their lives, that do have a tender heart, that honor/respect their mothers/women/sisters, and are such a blessing to know."  Yes, God gave Robyn a treasure in her son, but it is through God's son that she will now find hope, peace, and comfort in the days ahead.  Thank you Daniel for being a valiant warrior in God's Army to the end.  I look forward to the time when we shall meet again my dear brother.