Remembering



In the fall of 2008 I received a letter from a guy who was on his mission in Utah serving with my best friend Cortney. Cortney and I would talk about her getting missionaries to write me because I was single and because I wanted to write a missionary who wasn't "off limits."

Once I got the letter I thought it would be a good idea to write him back, his name was Chris Hamer. For months afterwards, almost a year, we wrote each other and shared our goals and dreams and wanted to meet each other at some point after he got home.

There came a time when I got caught up in my own life and we drifted apart, but every once and a while would be connect via facebook or text messaging and would talk for hours and it would be as if no time had passed at all.

Chris started to drift away from the church, as a lot of people do, and he moved back home with his family.... he went to Utah after his mission.

Almost 2 years ago I got a call from Cortney and Chris had died. They were best friends and she knew that I had a place in my heart for him, and she told me what happened. He flipped his car off the road into a corn field and passed away along with his family dog.

His family couldn't find him at first, but after a couple days they did.

My heart broke for his family and his friends, and even for myself. I didn't know him like some others did but I knew him from all of his letters. I always wanted to meet him and am sad that I never got the chance to do so.

A couple months ago Cortney posted a link to Amazon and it was for a book that Chris's mother wrote about his death. I ordered it and it just came today.

I started reading it this morning and I didn't get too far and I was already in tears.

I don't know how anyone could ever cope with losing their child at such a young age.

So today I am remembering Chris who I know I will meet in the next life and thank him for all of his kind words and encouragement when he was here on earth.