[untitled]

I found out this morning that someone I know died in a serious car crash. I'm not good friends with her and only know her because I spent 10 days in Israel with her. She was the sweetest girl, so full of life, and several years younger than me. The news came as a shock (as it should) yet it has affected me so deeply that I am surprised. I stared at her picture of Facebook for a good 15 minutes, unable to wrap my mind around the fact that she could be gone, just like that. Just a week ago she had posted a pics of a trip she had gone on.

It's hard to understand how life can be so fleeting. To think that I could be not here tomorrow feels surreal. Can we ever truly comprehend such a thing? Or is it just because I'm so young I take for granted the decades of life I think I have ahead of me?

Everyone loves the cliche "Everything happens for a reason" when hard times hit. I remember that when my college boyfriend and I broke up I heard that platitude so many times I thought I would vomit, or at least bite the next person's head off who dared utter those words. Yet I've probably been guilty of saying the same things when I'm at a loss for words. But now, even though I do believe in a omnipotent God whose plans are beyond our comprehension, can such a thing be true? Can a senseless death of Celine (and her father) be "for a reason"?? WTH. I will stop myself from digressing into an existential rant about God and his seemingly capricious involvement in our lives (enter lightening bolt striking me right about now).

But my mind returns to Emily... I need to call her... I've been such a crappy friend.