I’m from a very small town in northwestern
Pennsylvania. Franklin was an ideal
place to raise a family, really. It’s a
picturesque little town nestled in the hills of the Allegheny Mountains full of
blue collar families living, what I suppose was considered to have been, the
American dream. The major industries
were coal and steel, so needless to say the economy in that area isn’t what it
used to be. As you drive through the
streets of town you’ll see abandoned factories and many high school graduates
go off to college never to return, only to visit their families for the
holidays. That being said, I must say
the city has done a wonderful job of turning things around in recent
years. Some of that credit goes to a
former classmate of mine who was elected Mayor a few years ago. In fact, I ran into him in the grocery store
when I was in town last week and reminded him of an incident that took place in
the second grade. I wasn’t feeling so
well and he was in what was called the reading circle in the back of the
room. I realized I needed to get to a
bathroom fast so instead of walking around the desks to get there my second
grade mind thought it would be faster to crawl over top of them. You probably know what’s coming…..I, shall we
say, “lost my cookies” all over his desk.
I offered to stop by City Hall and initiate the desk he uses as
Mayor. He quickly declined.
In recent weeks friends from this little town have been hit
by tragedy. First, I received a call
that my friend Pam’s 19 year old son TJ had been killed in a motorcycle
accident. As you can imagine, she was
devastated. Then exactly one week later
a classmate Melissa’s 20 year daughter Asia was killed in a car accident. Just this past week, I received a text from a
friend at work that another friend “Grease” (his real name was Ron, but he
liked to work on cars – hence the nickname “Grease”) had collapsed, was life-flighted
to a hospital in Pittsburgh and was on life support. Over the next 24 hours I was in constant
contact with many of my friends until ultimately the decision was made to
disconnect the ventilator and he passed away a short time later. As you might imagine, these three deaths in
such a short period of time was enough to send people reeling in this small
town. So this is where I asked “Really
God”? Again? I’m quite sure there were others asking the
same question.
I wasn’t able to make the trip to Pennsylvania for TJ’s
memorial service or to pay my respects to Melissa, but heard from friends that
the support for both families was unbelievable.
I expected nothing less. When I
received word that Grease had indeed passed away, I knew I had to make the
trip. Again, the support for Grease’s
wife Kristy and their two daughters was incredible. Again, I expected nothing less. Friends and former classmates dropped what
they were doing and came to pay respects to their dear friend. The line at the funeral home for the evening
viewing was out the door and down the sidewalk for four straight hours.
Since it’s a six hour drive to Franklin and I made the trip
alone, I had a lot of time to converse with God and to reflect on the
environment in which I grew up. Since I
consider myself to be a woman of faith I know that I can’t question God’s
actions. I trust that he knows exactly
what he’s doing and I stand strong on that faith. As I reflected on my childhood I took the
time to thank God for allowing me to grow up in a place where people are there
for one another during times of tragedy.
I thanked him for my parents, who were role models and taught us right
from wrong. That they made us get out of
bed every Sunday morning and go to church whether we wanted to go or not. I knew not to even ask the question. I watched my mother take food to someone when
a close relative had passed away and I saw those same people bring food and
support my family in many ways when my parents, my sister-in-law and my nephew
died.
There was a time when I couldn’t wait to get out of that town. It wasn’t exciting enough for me I guess. But there is something to be said for all the things living in a small town has to offer. Like walking into a grocery store and knowing almost everyone in the store. Or going to back to school night and seeing former classmates because their children are in the same class. I truly never thought I’d say that I miss it, but I really do.
In short, I guess I’m not so much asking “Really God” this
time, but I’m saying “Thank-you God”.
Thank you for allowing me to be brought up with a sense of community
that I believe our world lacks today.
Everyone is so focused on themselves that they forget there is an entire
world of hungry, sick, grieving people who just need to feel God’s touch. I pray that God will use me in some way to
help my friends get through this difficult time. I hope my presence and encouraging words have
been a start.
Denise