The last week has proven to The Trussell household how precious and short life can be. Craig lost a very good friend on Thursday due to a work accident. His name is Chris. He was only 36 years old. He had a wife that was his best friend and three children that he adored.
Chris and Craig grew up in two different towns but wrestled against each other throughout high school. From the stories I have heard over the years, it was a fierce competition between the two. In fact, Chris's mother just told us last night that Chris use to have a list on his bedroom wall of all the guys he wanted to beat during a meet. She said, "Craig Trussell's name was at the top of the list."
Everyone always found it strange and odd how two people that fiercly competed against each other came to be good friends. When Craig and I started dating, Chris was one of the first friends I met. They played softball together for years. They teased each other about wrestling. Chris always gave Craig a hard time for "stealing" a district medal from him. Just last year, Chris was over at the house and acted like he was going to swipe the medal off of Craig's medal board. (Yes, my husband is 37 years old and still proudly displays EVERY wrestling medal. I just make sure its in the basement)
Chris and his wife are all about their family as much as we are. And when that happens you tend to lose touch from time to time. However, they were never far from our mind. Just a year ago, (Chris being the baseball lover that he is and the fact that he had built a baseball field in his backyard) gave our son's ball team permission to use his field to practice on. He helped us work with his local baseball league so that our team would have somewhere to play. He umpired most, if not all, of our games. Chris is the guy you look at and say, "Man I wish I could have half the character he has." He made you want to be a better person. The number of lives he touched is extraordinary. He is no one famous. But he is honest and down to earth.
God had differnent plans for Chris. It is always hard when someone young passes. I don't understand His plan and the overwhelming feeling of shock has not left us all weekend. But I recall a line from Steel Magnolias, "When something like this happens. I pray very hard to make head or tails of it.....I personally feel much safer knowing that he's up there on my side." All I can do is pray. I pray to God to wrap His arms around Chris's family. I pray that He graces them with His presence and lets them know that Chris will always be with them. I pray that those kids will always remember how much he adored them and that they were his world.
Craig and I have been doing a lot of thinking this weekend. And as usual, we kid and tease about leaving the house without that kiss or that goodbye or that 'I love you'. But in all seriousness.....Life is short. Don't take anything for granted. Cherish the moments. Laugh. Live. Love.
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