One of my fellow classmates who was a year behind me, but who I knew from high school chorus, was taken from us a few months prior to her graduation; the result of a one car accident.
Her name was Beth.
Not long before her own passing, Martha, her mother, wrote an autobiography, and referred to Beth’s untimely death, and provided some details surrounding the awful occurrence.
As an aside, it is important for my readers to understand that I had known Paul, Beth’s father, from a distance for years. He had been the minister of music for a local Baptist church. It was only a couple of years before he went on to his own heavenly reward that I was afforded the opportunity to meet him, and spent a couple of hours in his presence.
After Martha’s death, Paul had a few dozen copies of her book printed by a local publisher, and distributed them to relatives and friends. I had long wanted to read the manuscript, and in my interaction with the good minister I asked whether any copies remained. He replied that he had still had one soft bound copy, and one loose leafed copy.
As a result, I inquired whether I might borrow the second of the two volumes with the intention of scanning it to my hard drive, and also making a CD version for him. Paul reluctantly trusted me with one of the two remaining books in his possession. Having completed my mission, I subsequently returned the book and CD to Paul.
It is not intention, here, to do anything more than allude to Beth’s passing, as the details have been made public in Martha’s volume. Nevertheless, I feel it is all a bit too private and raw for me to intrude into, and I will refrain from doing so.
There is, however, a poignant passage in the book which speaks to the nature of Providence, and the compassion God exercises towards His creation in the losses which we all too often experience and endure.
“In May of the year which Beth left us, I began to dread Mother’s Day. Beth was so loving and thoughtful, especially on days like that. I knew that it would be a very difficult day, but I had a job to do at the church organ, and the day would have to be lived through.
“On Mother’s Day morning, as I was dressing, I reached for something in a drawer. The drawer was caught, and I yanked it open. When I did the whole drawer came out and dumped all its contents on the floor.
‘Lord, I don’t need this,’ I said. “Reaching up under the space to see what had caused the problem, I pulled out a large envelope. There in Beth’s handwriting was a Mother’s Day card from a previous year. I opened it and read the message.
“This was God’s way of giving me the courage which I needed so badly. It brought joy that stayed with me throughout that day which I had so dreaded. I was amazed at the peace and assurance which flooded my being.”
by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending
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