“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 8:38-39.

On a routine Thursday afternoon I was sitting in my finance class when I received a disheartening text from my best friend saying, “Wow don’t know if you heard but Edrick died last night.” As soon as my eyes glanced over these words I immediately zoned out and for the last ten minutes of class I couldn’t help myself but run through our high school memories.

The first thing that came to mind was his energy and the big smile he had on his face every time I saw him in the classroom or on the baseball field. Edrick and I both attended Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York, and played baseball together for both freshman and sophomore year, where we formed a bond that made us brothers.

One time sophomore year we had practice about 20 blocks from our school on some obscure turf field, so we decided to take the train. The whole train ride we were just trying to do our best impressions of our coach or trying to talk to girls a few years older than us – well really it was just him because he was the only one to have the courage to do so. When it came to that type of stuff he did not hesitate and just did it with a whole heart of energy. I admired his courage.

Although initially I was drawn to the happy memories we shared together going to the baseball field, I was also hit with the grim reality that he will no longer be here with us on Earth. This change scared me because I knew this could have happened to anybody. Edrick was only twenty years old when a car crash took his life, and all I could keep thinking about was the immense amount of pain that his family was going through.

While there is no immediate remedy to alleviate this pain, the story of Joseph, who was sold to the Ishmaelites by his brothers for twenty shekels of silver, should provide inspiration to transform these strong feelings of pain and sorrow into a deeper faith and deeper commitment to our purpose. When Joseph was brought to Egypt as a slave, he worked his way into the house of the Egyptian master. When Joseph was wrongly imprisoned, the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. When famine hit Israel and Joseph’s brothers, who sold him as a slave, traveled to seek food from Joseph, Joseph told them “do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones.” In every situation that Joseph was in he succeeded because of his faith.

Throughout the course of one’s life there will certainly be trials and tribulations and often times it is difficult to explain why some of these tragedies happen. Nevertheless the important thing to remember is that life is the greatest gift bestowed upon us. The problems we face on a daily basis are so minute because in the grand scheme we are truly just “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). However, every day we should celebrate the loving relationships that we are able to experience and grow in continuously because neither life nor death can separate us from our loved ones.