This side of Heaven.

Kitten Vicious (Jennifer Moreland) bottom row second from the end, RIP sweetheart.

Derby ended for me (as a player) last fall, but before my time was through I had the privilege of getting to know each of these amazing women here.  Today I found out one of these beautiful women is no longer with us.

Who was it that said that death comes in threes?  Maybe it was a Gilmore Girls episode (I watch too many reruns), but if it is true, I believe I have met my quota.  My Oma passed New Years Eve, My Aunt in a car accident in July and now Jennifer in a car accident today.  Untimely.  That is the only word I could think for this precious girl who had so much to live for, so many things ahead of her…I am sure there are those who read this that know similar loss.

After my Aunt’s burial Saturday, we were discussing heaven and a book written about it.  It’s called “90 minutes in heaven,” and Cecil Murphy (the author) recounts the memory he came back to life with about what heaven is like.  He had been pronounced DOA in his car accident, and spoke of how there was no light, no tunnel; he literally blinked from his vehicle to heaven.  Immediately greeted by all of his family members who had gone before him, he found each free of the ailments in life that had either impaired their existence or brought them to heaven.  There was no more pain, no more suffering, no more sorrow, simply a joyous reunion in a perfect place.  So much so, that when he was brought back to life, there was a period of depression he sustained having to readjust to a world full of turmoil and strife.  Each of us smiled as we thought about the greeting my aunt had the second she was ushered from here into eternity.  The first people she probably saw was my mom (her sister), my Oma (her mom), my uncle (her brother) and my Opa (her dad).  Then she would have met all her other family members that predeceased her, and all the people she had known in life and those she hadn’t.  I am certain Jennifer would have been greeted with the same joyful reunion.

You (the reader) can believe what you want (about Heaven), and I am not necessarily saying this man’s story is accurate, but I AM saying that each of my family members, though many dying in extreme pain, took their last breath on this earth with a faint smile on their face.   An eerily similar expression among each one who has passed, to where even the police at the scene of my Aunt’s accident commented on it’s presence.  Accurate or not, Heaven was where my family believed they were going, and I do not doubt that there was a brilliant family reunion on July 13th when my Aunt joined all those who have gone before!

It is my prayer that Jennifer joined them this morning, that my mom would get to meet another person who had been part of her daughters life, as heaven gains one more beautiful soul today.  She is in such a better place, and it is only hard for those of us left behind this side of Heaven.

One day, preferably decades down the road, I look forward to reuniting with them; till then, there are things I believe I am needed here to do.  Regardless, it is so clear that we do not get to decide when that day is, and it is my prayer that all those reading this recognize the urgency and will be part of that reunion one day.

I was asked a question before I made this trip back to Canada, which was, “When you get to heaven (if there is one), what do you want God to say to you?”  I thought for a minute, as I have been raised to know the answer to that question, but in my heart of hearts I live (imperfectly) to serve my Lord and one day want to hear, “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Life is short, be sure you know what you’re living for, and live it to the fullest.

You are missed mom…Oma…Opa…Aunt Hannelore…Grandma and Grandpa…Uncle Gary…Uncle Ewald…and you will be missed Jennifer Moreland; till we meet again.

• August 25, 2010
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