I’ve written before about how I met my wife, Georgette. We met on August 4, 1978, in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Midwest Federation Lebanese Convention. We were both 21 years old. I traveled to Indianapolis with a friend and when we walked into the hotel to check in, Georgette was walking through the lobby with her sister, Janet. My friend yelled out to them and introduced me to Georgette and her sister. We spent a few minutes talking to them and then checked into the hotel.
I knew who Georgette was before I was introduced to her. Every young man in the Lebanese community in Peoria knew who she was. Besides being stunningly beautiful, she had a reputation in the community for being a kind, generous, and fun-loving person. She had a magnetic …show more content…
She said that when I finally got around to talking, my favorite word was, “Why?” She told me that I drove her crazy because all I did was follow her around the house and ask her questions. Every time she answered one of my questions, I would follow up by asking “Why?”
Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a desire to figure out why people behave in certain ways and why events happen the way they do. I believe that God blessed me with a very power gift — the ability to observe and ask the right questions to figure out why a person is behaving in a certain way or why something has occurred or will occur.
My first experience with a sudden, unexpected death was when my cousin, Tommy LaHood, died. Tommy was 12 years old when he died as a result of a tragic accident. I was a year older than Tommy. He was the third child in a family of nine …show more content…
He was handsome, charming, kind, athletic, and good natured. More importantly, he had a pure heart and a genuine love for his family, friends, and relatives. He was the only one of my cousins who periodically lectured me about how important it was for me to refrain from cussing, looking at dirty pictures, and engaging in inappropriate behavior.
After Tommy died, the one burning question that kept repeating over and over in my mind was, “Why?”
Why did God allow him to be taken from us? He was the crown jewel of his family. He had such a bright future ahead of him. Why was his life snuffed out at such a young age?
Tommy’s death forced me to deal with several unfamiliar emotions — confusion, disbelief, guilt, loneliness, regret, sadness, and uncertainty.
Those were the same emotions Georgette was dealing with when I met her. They are the same emotions most people are forced to deal with when they suddenly lose someone who is precious to them.
So what’s the answer to the one question everyone always asks when someone they love suddenly passes away? That one question always starts with “Why.”
I’m going to do my best to answer that question next
I knew who Georgette was before I was introduced to her. Every young man in the Lebanese community in Peoria knew who she was. Besides being stunningly beautiful, she had a reputation in the community for being a kind, generous, and fun-loving person. She had a magnetic …show more content…
She said that when I finally got around to talking, my favorite word was, “Why?” She told me that I drove her crazy because all I did was follow her around the house and ask her questions. Every time she answered one of my questions, I would follow up by asking “Why?”
Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a desire to figure out why people behave in certain ways and why events happen the way they do. I believe that God blessed me with a very power gift — the ability to observe and ask the right questions to figure out why a person is behaving in a certain way or why something has occurred or will occur.
My first experience with a sudden, unexpected death was when my cousin, Tommy LaHood, died. Tommy was 12 years old when he died as a result of a tragic accident. I was a year older than Tommy. He was the third child in a family of nine …show more content…
He was handsome, charming, kind, athletic, and good natured. More importantly, he had a pure heart and a genuine love for his family, friends, and relatives. He was the only one of my cousins who periodically lectured me about how important it was for me to refrain from cussing, looking at dirty pictures, and engaging in inappropriate behavior.
After Tommy died, the one burning question that kept repeating over and over in my mind was, “Why?”
Why did God allow him to be taken from us? He was the crown jewel of his family. He had such a bright future ahead of him. Why was his life snuffed out at such a young age?
Tommy’s death forced me to deal with several unfamiliar emotions — confusion, disbelief, guilt, loneliness, regret, sadness, and uncertainty.
Those were the same emotions Georgette was dealing with when I met her. They are the same emotions most people are forced to deal with when they suddenly lose someone who is precious to them.
So what’s the answer to the one question everyone always asks when someone they love suddenly passes away? That one question always starts with “Why.”
I’m going to do my best to answer that question next