I have been struggling with how to express my emotions concerning the news I received Thursday evening and Friday morning. Chad Huggins, a 17 year old high school student shot himself Thursday around 5 pm. He was a member of the school rifle team and was in the stadium locker room by himself when it happened. Chad was life-flighted to a hospital where a medical team worked to save his life, but at 2:30 AM he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to his head. It has yet to be determined whether it was an accident or a suicide but either way the outcome is the same. A young man’s life is gone and I don’t know quite what to think or say.
I have known Chad Huggins since he was born. I remember the smiling cherub-like little boy that ran through the church building on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s when he was a preschooler. I remember after leaving Washington, PA and moving to Newport News that every time I returned to PA that he would come up to me and want to talk. He always made me smile just looking at him but now, when I go to church there, he will be missing and I don’t understand how to feel. Should I be angry with Chad for ending his life way too soon? Because I am. Should I be angry with those that were closest to him for not noticing something different about Chad that day? Because there must have been something different. Why didn’t they do something about it? Should I be angry that he was left alone with a rifle in a locker room? Where were his fellow teammates, coaches, trainers??? How can you leave a teen by himself with a loaded gun? There may never be answers to these emotional questions I struggling with this morning and I can’t even begin to imagine the emotional questions and heartache his parents are experiencing. I ask that you please pray for Chad’s parents, Ron and Loretta Huggins and for Trisha Huggins, his sister as well as the extended family. Also please pray for the church family in Washington, PA and especially for Richard Walton, Chad’s youth minister as they all strive to cope and help one another through this tragic time.
I’ll miss you Chad
Roger, over and out!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Chad Huggins
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7 comments:
Accident or intentional it should not have happened. Life is fragile and the mind of a 17 year old is a flighty place, quickly changing and having very limited life experience. Mistakes do cause accidents and just as a toddler is likely to fall when learning to run. So teenagers are going to have “accidents.” Being around responsible and aware elder peers can help prevent such accidents. A gun does not know whether it is pointed at a target or a person and if the trigger is activated the bullet can not and will not be recalled. It is instant permanent and irreversible. How many seventeen year olds understand that? How many adults understand, I mean really understand the damage a misplaced bullet can do? Teenagers having a very narrow spectrum of time to draw on need to talk to trust worthy adults who have been through the fires of life, they need to know that they will be loved always and every problem on this side of eternity is temporary.
Their are many good people who are not with us because they were alone at a time of great loss or a moment of indiscretion. The tears of those left to carry on without them is their memorial. No teenager should want to leave is such a way. Stick around and help someone, you are needed, you will be needed and you have no right or need to remove yourselves from the fight. Talk about it with others and give it to God he will help you through it.
Thank you for your added thoughts. It sounds as though you have been there and know what you are talking about.
Roger, over and out.
Roger,
I don't know what to say or feel either. Tragedies like this never make any sense. One of my co-workers shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and then shot and killed himself last week. I was in utter shock when I heard the news. This happened on a Saturday and I saw and spoke with him on the Wednesday prior. I saw him at least twice a week for over 3 years and I would have never guessed that he was capable of doing such a heinous thing. People that worked closely with him all said that they would have never guessed he was that mentally ill.
I just think that sometimes when a person is that depressed or ill, that they do a very good job of showing no signs.
Satan can be so destructive. I think that's why it's so important to not only have a church home but really have close church relationships. Something more than "hey, howya doin?" Close friends that you can trust, that will spiritually mentor you and pray for you.
Will,
You are absolutely right. We do need close accountable relationships.
Eccl 4:9-12 (NIV) Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
It seems though in Chad's case he had a relationship with his family and some others and yet it still was not enough. I guess sometimes circumstances and pressure along with the possible emotions of embarrassment, fear, anger, whatever, can trump relationships.
God may be the only one that will ever know what is behind the decision to take one's life and I thank God that he is wise and loving.
May God bless the Huggins family and church as they bury their loved one today!
Roger, over and out
My heart hurts like it has never hurt before. My son was a typical teenage boy but I am very thankful he was a Christian teenage boy. I taught him and his sister to treat people as individuals not as to what group they thought they belonged to. My son could go from the preps to the rednecks and enjoy everyone. He didn't need to be in a group, he just enjoyed people. He was great with adults, small children, and the elderly. He had a lot to offer this world and would have been great in whatever path he would have chosen. We don't understand the mind but all I know is it couldn't have been my son in those last minutes of his life. He was enjoying his senior year and looking forward to going on to school. If you know someone who is struggling, please don't be afraid to help them or get help for them. I only wish someone could have done that for my son. I pray that he is at peace now even though I miss him greatly and will the rest of my life. My normal will never be normal again. I will have to learn how to live without him. It is a pain so great, one that I never I would ever have to feel especially at such a young age. My family and I need your prayers now and will need them for a long time. I pray the pain will ease up but it will always be there. Love each other, do random acts of kindness, pay it forward. Include others in your circle of friends who you would never think of---you don't know when you will miss out on another special person. Remember Chad for his life not his death.
Thank you and I will. Keri and I will be in contact soon. May God bless you and your famiy.
I just came across your comment (after learning of the death of Chad Huggins). As a high school teacher and someone who has known Chad very well from his birth through his untimely death, I am troubled by your assumption that anyone COULD see something different that day... Did it ever occur to you that everything was as normal as any other day? Please do not blame anyone in this matter... including Chad. You can be angry... join the club... but I hope that in the months since you posted this comment that you have reconciled with your doubt of those of us who cared about Chad and his wellbeing. We will never know why or how, or what we possibly could have done differently... if there was anything..., but what Chad would not want us to do it question one another. I hope that your emotional response is now displayed as a lifetime of prayers for Chad's family and friends and realization of the importance of teaching and demonstrating love and respect for everyone... even those who we do not think are in need.
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