Calls to remember come when we least expect them. Mine came on Thursday, July 11, 1996. It was about 1:15 p.m. just after I returned from lunch. It was my youngest brother. He called to tell me about one of his 3 children.

Moriah had just turned 5. She was due to start school and she could hardly wait! But school was only one of her passions. At church one of her goals was to hug as many people as possible. She loved her family, she was proud to have eyes like her daddy's, and her stuffed bear, Susan (a boy!) was never too far away. One of her favorite things were rocks (which of course were alive & ate dirt). Whenever I saw her, she ran to me and wrapped her arms around my legs.

The voice on my phone sounded strange. "This is Jerry". I didn't recognize his voice. "WHO is this?" I said. "THIS IS JERRY, your brother. There's been an accident…it's Moriah…she's dead." I could barely breathe and I felt like my heart would stop. American had responded and transported her to CCH. Everyone worked hard, but she was already gone.

The next few days were a blur. I have another brother in Fresno, and a third brother flew in from his home south of San Diego. My parents were on a trip to British Columbia. It took 2 days to find them. They arrived home on Sunday. The funeral was on Tuesday. It was standing room only.

Since then, many people at American have asked me if I think that it is God's will for accidents like this to happen. It's a difficult question, and I don't have all the answers, but here goes. While I would never be so bold as to speak for God (or decide what I think God should be like), He does speak to us in the Bible. These are some of those things (paraphrased). 1) Good and bad things happen to everyone, no matter how good or bad we are; 2) Death is a part of life and even though it causes us grief, for the believer in Christ, death is not a bad thing; 3) God sees our life from beginning to end, while we have a limited view of things; 4) Only God knows the length of our lives and what's best for us; 5) God loves us more than we can comprehend.

Based on that information, we know that when a person places their life (or the lives of their children) in God's hands, that mean trusting Him, not just when things go our way. Anyone can do that. To trust Him when times are hard is the difficult part. Is my family super spiritual? No. Did we ask why she died? Yes. We asked a lot of questions. But in the end there are only 2 choices. 1) Turn away from God and decide that we are our own god, or 2) trust in the one true God and His sovereignty, integrity, and justice. So, could God have prevented this accident? I believe He could have, but He did not. That seems to indicate that it was His will.

So this is my call to remember. And it's a call I remember nearly every day. But when I do, I choose to remember Moriah's life. And I think that even in heaven, she still hugs everyone and plays with rocks. And then I remember the best part - I'll see her there when I die. And she will run to me and wrap her arms around me again.