Staring death in the face
"Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life." - Bertolt Brecht
A week ago today, 17 year-old Calvin Nedeljkovich and his younger brother were biking home from their work at a nearby farm. It was perhaps a 5 minute ride, but Calvin would never reach the end of it. No more than a minute from his home, Calvin was hit by a pick-up truck. his younger brother ran home to tell his family what had happened, saying he was dead. When his family reached the scene, the driver was attempting to revive him. When the ambulance arrived, paramedics could find no vital signs, but were able to revive him. However, this faint hope passed away when Calvin died in the hospital two hours later.
Calvin was a grade 12 student a Waterloo-Oxford. Though I didn't know him personally, his twin sister Caroline and younger sister Danielle have been my friends for several years. It hit me hard that a boy whose life was really only just beginning could die so suddenly.
The funeral took place on Tuesday. The moment my friends and I arrived, we knew instantly how much this boy was loved. The room was jam-packed with family, friends, neighbours and teachers. People had to sit outside the room or stand against the walls just to fit in. Seeing this really made me wish I could have known the person which so many people had come to honour. It certainly isn't every person that can boast being so loved by literally about 1000 people.
As I passed the coffin in where Calvin lay, with the make-up managing to almost conceal the bruise on his head, it struck me. I can't make excuses for myself anymore. As I'm sure God knows, I constantly see things I should deal with in my life and my heart, but I tell myself, "I've got my whole life ahead of me to work that out". Staring Calvin in the face for the last time, God drove home the point that this was certainly not always the case. How sad that it took a fellow student's death for me to realize this somber truth!
If you can, please pray for the Nedeljkovich family. The sadness I feel must be pitiful compared to the sorrow his mother, father, 11 siblings and extended family must feel. Imagine having to bury your eldest son, your brother, or your twin! Although I can't understand why God allowed this to happen, I know that it will bring him glory in some way. Thank you God, for the testimony of Calvin's life. I know that there are no tears where he is.
Calvin was a grade 12 student a Waterloo-Oxford. Though I didn't know him personally, his twin sister Caroline and younger sister Danielle have been my friends for several years. It hit me hard that a boy whose life was really only just beginning could die so suddenly.
The funeral took place on Tuesday. The moment my friends and I arrived, we knew instantly how much this boy was loved. The room was jam-packed with family, friends, neighbours and teachers. People had to sit outside the room or stand against the walls just to fit in. Seeing this really made me wish I could have known the person which so many people had come to honour. It certainly isn't every person that can boast being so loved by literally about 1000 people.
As I passed the coffin in where Calvin lay, with the make-up managing to almost conceal the bruise on his head, it struck me. I can't make excuses for myself anymore. As I'm sure God knows, I constantly see things I should deal with in my life and my heart, but I tell myself, "I've got my whole life ahead of me to work that out". Staring Calvin in the face for the last time, God drove home the point that this was certainly not always the case. How sad that it took a fellow student's death for me to realize this somber truth!
If you can, please pray for the Nedeljkovich family. The sadness I feel must be pitiful compared to the sorrow his mother, father, 11 siblings and extended family must feel. Imagine having to bury your eldest son, your brother, or your twin! Although I can't understand why God allowed this to happen, I know that it will bring him glory in some way. Thank you God, for the testimony of Calvin's life. I know that there are no tears where he is.
posted by Leanne @ 3:42 p.m.
5 Comments:
Wow, this brought tears to my eyes. I agree that it's difficult to understand why God allows things such as this to happen I do know that he can bring some good out of terrible situations. And one example of this is when a bad situation causes other people to think and to make decisions that glorify God.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
Thanks for the comment! Although I didn't know Calvin very well, sitting there at that funeral for a kid my age felt really wrong. I kept on asking, "Why God? Why would you do that?" I realized later that "Why?" wasn't really the best question. I know my head will never be able to contain the infinite wisdom of God. I decided instead to ask, "How God? How can I learn and grow from this?" It's a tragic thing for this to happen, and it would be even more tragic to miss the lessons I can learn from it, especially since this lesson costed a life.
Well written and very insightful leanne. It is always difficult to understand when someone so young is taken from us.
Hey, I had talked with Calvin a bit and he was a nice guy. My friend Jake Nitz was really close with him so it was hard for him to go through. I know how you feel, why would God let this happen, obviously there's some sort of lesson to be learned here Godbless<><.
Ig Calvin is that loved then we know that God couldnt spend anothere day with out one of his children. I never knew Calvin or the family but if he is anything liek Kyla then he was an angle walking on earth
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