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A Teenager Who Blessed My Heart

Dear Friends:

As a teenager during the 1980's, I met a special family at a Baptist Church in Puerto Rico who lost a teenage daughter during the 1970's at age 17. They resided in the U.S. for a number of years until the death of their youngest daughter. Soon after they moved to Puerto Rico, and began helping a new church to which we all attended, located in the town of San Sebastian, P.R. The father of this deceased daughter always approached me with a hand shake whenever I reluctantly sang in my small home church. I was miserable, unhappy, and forced to sing--but this gentleman would encourage me with a smile and always said, "You remind me of my best friend who was also a singer like you." I never knew at the time he had a deceased teenage daughter, but I often wondered who was his friend. I was later informed of his best friend to have been his daughter, and it was much too painful for him to say "my daughter" as he still grieved her death. The kind gentleman never connected with anyone in the church as he did with me. I was a reminder of his "best friend" and he made me feel special. He treated me like a daughter though I was protective and reluctant to open myself to anyone. Eventually, the silent grief in the heart of this gentleman caught up with his health. The intense suffering he endured was too much for his heart, and he suffered another heart-attack. Our church pastor and a missionary friend informed our family of his sudden death. I was shocked and saddened by the news, for he was a role-model/father-figure for me. My family waited days before visiting the widow, and we finally made plans to visit her. My depression at the time was increasing as I fought to be strong on my own strength. We finally arrived at the home of the widow as she immediately pulled me into her home. We sat together in her living room, and she began to pull out beautiful hidden portraits of her deceased daughter mounted in pretty frames. The widow always reminded me of the resemblance between her daughter and I. I never took it seriously until I saw the photographs. It was quite spooky at the time, for she had long brown hair as I once did and certain physical features to resemble me! One of my relatives had also witnessed what was seen in the photographs, and became superstitiously concerned. I grew up in a superstitious home, so word reached the ears of family members regarding the strange and spooky resemblance between this teenage girl and I. The young teenager was described to have been beautiful and talented, so it was an honor for this mother to say I resembled her daughter. The beautiful young lady was also a singer who was very much involved in her ministry for the Lord. At the time I did question, "Why did God allow her to die so young?" I was angry and confused. I looked at the photographs to see a young vibrant teenager who was confident and happy, and here I was feeling miserable and depressed while lacking confidence. The mother of the deceased daughter immediately explained for my understanding, "She was a teenager who blessed many people with her testimony of Christ in her heart, and it was her time to go with Jesus as she too completed her mission." God's message to me as a teenager was to realize I too am important, beautiful, and special as this young lady was; and God would also assign me a special ministry just as He did for this teenage girl, so my destiny was predicted through this widow's daughter. The beautiful teenager was always on a go in her mission for Christ, and the mother could never slow her down. One day the young lady traveled in a church bus with the youth group, and something went terribly wrong to which the bus geared out of control and accidentally rolled down a steep hill. Many of the youth group students landed on the young lady and she suffered internal injuries. At the hospital she seemed fine, and shared special moments with her parents at her side. Shortly before her surgery, she also spent quality time with her family and friends who stopped by the hospital to enjoy a unforgettable fun moment with her. The time of the surgery arrived, and her last words to her mom was, "Don't worry about me mom, for God is with me." She then passed away during surgery. All students survived the horrible accident except the young lady, but her funeral was a blessing as her testimony was shared and many came to Christ before her casket closed. There were still sad moments for this family, but it was much harder when they attended their home church. "One unforgettable Sunday", quoted the widow mother, "all students involved in the horrible accident had entered the doors of the church one by one, whether they had a broken leg or broken arm, and the only student to have never walked in through the doors of the church was our daughter". The young girl still left behind the memory & legacy of her testimony; and her story blessed my spirit to search beyond my own strength, for within my strength I was incapable--but in God's strength their is a way. The testimony of this young lady made her unique in her life with Christ. This was the strength I needed to which I too could be a blessing to another living soul, and so I never forgot the legacy of this teenager's story. The father of the deceased daughter was handling the grief on his own strength. If he only understood God's plan for his daughter's life through the wisdom of God's love, he would have survived in God's strength and share his daughter's legacy together with his wife. The loving widow still continues to share the testimonial legacy of their beautiful daughter, and continues to bless more people as she blessed me. There are issues in life which are beyond our own strength, just as it was for this father. My past grief of emotional pain was beyond my own strength, but learning to trust and obey God helped me survive. I will never forget the blessed legacy of this vibrant teenager, for she inspired my heart to further understand life in God's love.

Sincerely,

Sandy

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