Goodbye Craig, You Will Be Missed

I was going to blog about something completely different today, but as I was heading in to work this morning I saw that I missed a phone call at 11:30 last night from a friend whom I hear from every now and then. When I checked my voice mail, she informed me that the younger brother of a good friend of ours from high school had drowned over the weekend.

The young man was 25, the same age as my younger brother, and I knew him not only because he was the younger brother of my good friend, whom I had gone to school with from kindergarten through high school, but because I got to spend time with him his freshman year and my senior year when we were in the band together. Like the rest of his family, he had an amazing outlook on life and was an absolute joy to be around. Both brothers had very similar personalities in that there is always a positive side to any bad situation. They were always happy, always smiling, always friendly to everyone. Of course all of the ladies wanted them (I was the first girlfriend of the brother my age), but they were the illusive guys who chose to be the friend of every girl.

In January 2006, the younger brother, Craig, went to Mexico and bought some fireworks to celebrate the new year. Despite the warning on the fireworks, Craig held the firework when he lit it, and it blew his right hand clean off. Instead of wondering why such a horrible thing had happened to him, he chose to become "a poster child of firework safety." He told the newspapers that July when they did a story about him that when he was fitted with a hook for a hand, he threw a pirate party. "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When you get fitted with a hook, have a pirate party!" That was always his outlook on life. He apparently went on to make You Tube videos about how to do things one-handed, such as tying your shoes and opening jars.

This past weekend he was out on the lake with his family when he jumped into the water to rescue an oar and never resurfaced. They have yet to find his body. My heart absolutely broke for his family, and I cried a few times throughout the day. I wanted to fly home for the funeral, but the cheapest flight I could find was $600, so the best I can do to show my condolences for their loss, is to help spread Craig's message. Below is a message he posted when he lost his hand, and I know that this was and still is his outlook on life.

He will be sorely missed. The world has truly been deprived of one of its finest young men.

Craig's Comments:

I haven't always been left handed. In fact, I still get weirded out when I look down at the stub where my right hand used to be! Christmas vacation last year took me on a road trip to Mexico. Question: Where can you buy better quality fireworks than in Mexico? (Answer: ANYWHERE!) On New Year's Eve I lit a harmless looking firework at midnight, and a moment later I looked down and realized that my hand took the early bus back to heaven!

All joking aside, I have learned some powerful lessons through that experience. (Surprisingly, most of them have very little to do with firework safety!) Although what occurred was tragic, I believe what I have learned has made me a better person and will continue to bless the lives of many people.

1. Don't buy fireworks in Mexico!

2. There are some things in life that we simply cannot control. (If I hadn't blown off my hand, some other poor sap would have!) It's okay. As we let go of those things quickly and completely, we become free.

3. "Men are that they might have joy"! Life is good. Laughter heals. Life is funny. There are funny things that happen every day even in the worst of situations. Bad days make good stories. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. It's funny that laughter and tears come together so easily.

4. The atonement of Christ brings peace and healing "that surpass all understanding". We come to know ourselves and we come to know God through our trials. We are surrounded by miracles. When we trade self pity for humility, our eyes are opened to see them.

5. There is so much life to live! Why waste time worrying and stressing about inconsequential things? Spend time doing what matters most—the things that bring the most light and joy to life. Enjoy the ride.

6. Challenges make us stronger and better. With creativity and patience, we are capable of much more than we ever imagined. Our perspective determines our reality. (There is nothing that quite compares with the feeling of accomplishment gained from tying your shoes with one hand for the first time!)

7. We can always lift others, no matter how bad of a situation we are in. It is a divine gift. The only true and lasting joy comes from forgetting ourselves and helping those around us.