For Obadiah

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

I've been planning on writing Part II of my "Complexity of Love" ramblings, but something more important came up. A friend of my brother's from elementary school passed away last night. A week ago, he collapsed and during his stay in the hospital, suffered multiple cardiac arrests, swelling in his brain, and many other complications. He was even declared brain dead before a final test showed blood flowing through his entire brain. All of this, at just twenty-one years of age.

I don't have exact details of what happened or why, I just know that someone who was very alive and that I have very specific memories of, is not on this planet any longer. It breaks my heart to even type that. Were we close? No. But he was still a friend. He would send requests to me (along with all his other friends) on Facebook to listen to music he had mixed; he called himself DJ Obi. And he was good at it.

He was such a sweet guy and from seeing all the statuses on Facebook asking for prayer for his healing, he made an impact on a lot of people. One of those guys you feel went too soon. I know he wouldn't have gone if he hadn't fulfilled his purpose on earth, but there's this feeling in my gut he would have touched a lot more people.

This whole time, my heart has been aching for Obadiah and his family, and I've been praying my hardest, asking others to believe for his healing as well. This situation has marked me so greatly (though I can't say how exactly) that I know I won't be the same. I don't know why, since we weren't that close. I just knew he was a great guy, who could have done so much, and that he had many friends and family who needed him here.

But sometimes, you have to trust that God knows what He's doing, even though people are left grieving. I know it's been said a thousand times, and I will say it again. God's plan is so much bigger than ours and maybe, He wanted Obi to come home sooner than we did. Maybe that's been where Obi has belonged this whole time.

I can find relief in knowing that Obadiah is no longer in bodily pain or turmoil and that he no longer has to struggle through this messed up world. He is in the one place we should all wish to be; he's a whole lot better off than we are now.

Now is where we say goodbye to Obadiah's earthly form, but know we will one day meet again. I write in memory of him and his family will be on my heart. To you, Obadiah.