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| Memorial to Coach Fei |
She tried
to kill herself. Lynn tried really hard. She saved
enough pills to do the job. She waited until her husband would not be home for
more than 12 hours. She took the pills and laid down to die. BUT he came home
thirty minutes early. Her body was in the throes of death, but had not reached
heaven's gates.
It was
2008. The bottom had fallen out of the housing market. The family construction
business went bankrupt. Her son-in-law was forced to leave the state to find
another job taking her only child and two grandchildren with him. In the middle
of a tumultuous marriage, she lost her family, her house, her livelihood and
her standing in the community. The mental illness she struggled with most of
her life overwhelmed her. No one needed her. She lost all hope. Lynn made a
plan, took the pills and lost consciousness.
She spent 3 days in a coma and eventually recovered enough to go
home. She sought counseling, treatment and medication for bi-polar disorder. She
struggled to understand why God didn't let her die. Was she not good enough to
be with Him? She battled to find a reason to go on living. She made a choice to get up
every morning and find a reason.
A phone call on the afternoon of February 14, 2018 reminded Lynn
that God always had a plan for her. Her
terrified daughter called asking for prayer. Both grandchildren were on lock
down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Lynn reached
out to her prayer chain. We began to intercede for all the children, staff, and
even the shooter.
Lynn's granddaughter heard shots fired and stayed crouched down with her classmates for four hours until led out by police. Her grandson was being
interviewed by college football recruiters when the shooter walked by. The
shooter killed his favorite football coach. Lynn's grandchildren survived with no
physical scars, but lost 14 friends and three staff members.
Lynn and her
husband, Mark, spent all afternoon watching the news for updates. Relief swept
over them when they heard the children were safe and the shooter
apprehended. When her daughter called
and said, "Momma, would you please come?" Lynn automatically
responded, "We'll be there as quick as we can."
Early the next
morning Lynn and her husband made the nine-hour road trip to Parkland to help
in whatever way they could. When they arrived their grandson asked Mark to help
him build a cross to memorialize Coach Feis. Together they went to Home Depot
for supplies. They did not have to pay for anything. Home Depot donated all the
materials. Grandfather and grandson worked together to create a memorial to a
wonderful man and strengthened their own bond. The manual task served to ease
the pain of loss.
Both grandchildren were interviewed on national television about
the shooting. They represented their
family and their faith in a mature and impressive manner.
Lynn stayed the rest of the week to make it possible for her
daughter and grandson to attend an previously scheduled scholarship interview out
of state. He got the scholarship.
Lynn did what she considered little things. She cooked favorite
comfort foods, she did laundry and she let her 15-year-old granddaughter
practice driving. Lynn lightened the grief by planning surprise outings. She
took her granddaughter to the beach to get out of town and away from the trauma
site. Another day she took her to a movie but not until they stopped at the
Dollar Store to load up on candy.
She took her
granddaughter shopping. Sadly it was for funeral clothes. Lynn attended several funerals with her
granddaughter. The name that might be familiar to you is that of her friend Peter Wang. Peter, a brave ROTC
cadet, held the door while other students escaped to safety.
The
Bible is full of stories of strong women. My favorite is Esther a beautiful young Jewess who risked her life to serve
God and save her people. An orphaned child raised by her older cousin Mordecai,
she became the queen of the Persian Empire.
Through an incredible act of bravery Esther saved her people
from being completely annihilated, but not before Mordecai challenged her:
"Don't think for a moment that because you're at the palace
you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time
like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other
place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as
this?" Esther 4:13-14 NLV
Two things stand out for me: God would deliver the Jews one way
or another and/or, Esther could chose a divine destiny. Esther chose a
"for-such-a-time-as-this-moment" to save her people and cement her
place in history.
I feel certain we all have a Moment where we are positioned in a
particular place at a specific time for His purpose. For most of us it is not a
history-cementing-moment. However small the Moment may be, it might change
someone's life.
We can only surmise how this story could have been different if
Lynn had been successful in her suicide attempt. I know how my sister's three
boys reacted to her suicide. None of it is pretty. Alcohol, drug abuse and jail
time followed for them. Thirteen years later they are still tormented by her
death.
I'm so glad Lynn failed in her attempt. So is her family because
she was there for such a time as this.
