Lydia B.'s paper

Lydia Brattin posted this today on Facebook. It was very thoughtful of her.

I realized that a year and 2 days ago was when I last saw my friend Hayden Smith before he died. Enclosed is a narrative essay I wrote for my Creative Writing class, adequately titled, "In Memory of Hayden Smith."

When my family became members at Fellowship Bible Church in 2007, I was nine years old and one of the first people I met that was my age was Hayden Smith. When we were in our teen years, I'd occasionally turn around during a Sunday morning service, see Hayden with his family, and smile at him, to which he'd smile back. That radiant smile, as well as his twinkling crystal-blue eyes, were snuffed out like a candle on August 21st, 2015. That day, just months short of his 18th birthday, was when Hayden Milton Smith died after a severe car crash the day before. As I mourned with Hayden's parents, his younger sister Hope, and his little brother Carter, I learned that no matter how Godly, helpful, funny, or friendly you are, nobody but God truly knows how long your life will be.

Hayden wasn't an ordinary kid: he was generous, kind, friendly, and funny. An example of his generosity happened a few months before the accident, when he delivered a presentation to the church about a recent missions trip he took to Haiti with a non-profit group called Poured Out, which provides clean water to third-world countries. Another example of his generosity occurred long before the crash, when Hayden had registered with the Gift of Life, which donated his liver, kidneys, and heart posthumously. One example of his humor occurred one day, when I entered the Sunday School classroom. I saw Hayden with Hope and exclaimed, "Hey, you two!" As quick-witted as ever, Hayden grinned from ear-to-ear and quipped, "Hey, you one!"

On August 20th, 2015, I was goofing around on Twitter when I stumbled upon a tweet that Mr. Smith just posted, which said that Hayden had been in a car accident on his way to water polo practice and got air lifted to U of M. After that, my mood stayed somber until the next afternoon. I was sitting next to my dad at the Saline library (we were planning to be there until mom was done with work before picking her up and going to the hospital to see the Smiths) when I suddenly heard daddy say, "Uh oh." After pausing the video I was watching, I turned to see what dad was talking about and gasped when I saw an email from Pastor Postiff on his computer's screen which said that after countless tests, Hayden had been pronounced brain-dead at age 17.

After picking up mom, we rushed to the hospital where we saw a crowd of people in the lobby. We asked for an update on Hayden, but we were told that funeral and burial arrangements were being made. Soon after, we were led by Mrs. Smith to the room where Hayden lay, and I felt like collapsing in tears when I saw that his eyes were halfway between open and shut. His beach-tan skin was now mostly pale, except for a couple blood gushed on his right foot as well as on some of his brownish-blonde hair. After my parents had their last look, I begged them to stay a little bit longer while I said my last goodbye to Hayden. Holding onto the rail of the hospital bed, I stuttered a goodbye that I wished Hayden could hear, including a heartfelt confession of love towards him that I had been hiding since I met him. After my goodbye had been said, I joined my parents as we left the room and the hospital.

I previously stated that no matter who you are, nobody but God knows how long your life will be, and one verse in the Bible stands out. The verse, James 4:14, says that life is "like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." This verse is true because nobody knew for how much of a "little while" Hayden would stay alive. At first, I thought that Hayden was taken away too soon, but I later remembered that God chooses how long we live. It was a shock for Hayden to die the way he did, when other stories I've heard about teen deaths happening are caused by shootings or partying late, because Hayden never drank or shot anyone! I don't know when I'll see Hayden again, but I miss him every single day and hope to see him very soon.  

(I'll double check this but I think Lydia had that dream of you in heaven on Thursday night before she knew that you had died. Amazing!)

(I checked-it was!)