Britney Gengel was a sophomore at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. In many ways she was a typical teenager – but everyone who ever met her were struck by her sense of humor, passion, and deep sense of caring for the less fortunate. A few weeks after Christmas in 2010, she volunteered for a service project in Haiti, helping out at food stations and orphanages before the new semester began. “Brit" as she was known to family and friends, had fallen in love with the children of Haiti. She texted her mom and dad, "They love us so much and everyone is happy.”They love what they have and they work so hard to get nowhere, yet they are all so appreciative. I want to move here and start an orphanage myself.”
That was the last they heard from Britney. The next day the catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti and the hotel where Britney and her group from Lynn University were staying collapsed. Her family waited 33 days helplessly including a mistaken report that she was alive before her body was found in the rubble. She was just 19.
No loss in life is as great as the one that results from death. Its stark reality sucks the breath of life from us all! It’s impossible to replace someone who has died. There is always a hole. Losing children is particularly painful because we have in our minds that it should not work this way! But no matter what the age or circumstance death is crushing no matter what we believe!
Death leaves us with many questions for sure but today we get a chance to peek beyond the darkness to the glory! Do we believe? If we do what does that mean for us now? Suffering ourselves teaches us to have compassion for others! Well Britney Gengel’s family was devastated by her death in Haiti but they were also determined that part of their daughters dream be realized. Her life keeps them going until the fullness of the promises of God is revealed! Brit’s parents and two brothers established a nonprofit foundation to build an orphanage that will house 33 boys and 33 girls, 33 symbolizing the number of days Britney was missing. They are committed to building a safe, nurturing facility in which Haitian children in their care can grow, learn and thrive! That project is moving forward! We may not embark on such a major effort but what impact does our belief in eternal life have on us?We do not have to mourn what we think we missed, we do not have to covet what others may have , we do not have to compare ourselves to others, success is defined by faithfulness not always by winning or by having the most, we not are not made simply to accomplish great feats without love, without recognizing and cherishing the love of our dear family members and friends, we are not made to trample down our neighbors but to respect them, the world’ resources are not to be pillaged by careless consumption, but conserved and shared and on and on.
Hey we don’t live this life forever! We are not escaping death, so we can’t plan to. We can’t plan to save the people we love or ourselves on our own. It won’t work! We need someone to save us! God can! He revealed his power so that we might believe. Do we believe? Do you? Let God’s life-giving spirit bless our lives, wash us clean open and our eyes and make every day new and full of life no matter what happens! Our grief is only temporary not forever! Written by Carlos Fuentes
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