A Shocking Loss

My son awoke us at 2am and said Shelby Lee was dead and his best friend, Cory, was in the car too. This is a great and tragic loss. While we all tried to comfort one another, all we could think to do was to pray. In the early morning hours, devastating news came. Some have lost a child, others have lost a sister, a dear friend, a classmate. Today, as we try to grapple with the reality of how much is lost, some are losing their innocence, some are losing normal, others are losing hope – all of us are losing sleep.


Why? Because there is no comfort or rest in death. There is no human understanding in tragedy – only the numb weight of wondering if anything could have been done or said to stop it all from happening. But it’s too late for that and we all know it and that’s what hurts. At some point, some day, we can more easily evaluate (for all of us) what there is to gain. As believers, we strangely must receive life through the process of death. God never guarantees a certain amount of years on this earth; life is not a right, but a privilege and a blessing. What is there to gain by this tragedy? Only God knows. But safe to say, that out of death, life is always produced when sifted through God’s hands, and all things that Satan intended for evil, God can make good (2 Cor. 12:3). I’m praying not only for the affected families, but for all of us.

Let us all be changed from this day forward. The best thing we can do for Shelby is to live differently; live by thanking God for every moment; live with intention and purpose; live without apathy or waste; live to serve Him with everything we have to to save as many as we can. Let Shelby’s life be a seed that is planted in all of us that forces our faith to grow. Let Shelby’s premature death be an extension of life for us, for there is only life through a life lived with and for Jesus Christ. Honor Shelby by allowing God to rock your world, and shake you from the clutches of anything that is associated with this world. This world offers nothing of lasting value – it is life sucking, toxic and offers no hope. Our hope is in a life lived for Christ – where this world is simply a passing stop on the way to righteous glory, where there is no pain, no tears, and no death. I don’t know if Shelby Lee ever lost a wrestling match; I’m sure she did, but certainly they were few and far between. But we all know that she was a fighter, and if she could have possibly won this match, she would have. This one slipped away.

My prayers are with Cory and any other kids involved as well. I pray peace and comfort for all the families involved. Cling to each other, find the stories, lock in the memories, be on your knees, and allow the healing to wash over you hour by hour. 

Jerry Blanchard