Niceville weeps

wow…its been a little while. Not only that but I have put off writing for a few more weeks because the last two weeks have been really hard. Ministry has been kind of tough. In the midst of it all though God has been so good. It all began on August 29th when Niceville was playing football against Ft. Walton Beach. It was the second half of the game and a lot of the JV team were getting to play. (The varsity had played the first half.) From what I know and understand, Taylor Haugen went up to catch a pass and was tackled by two players that hit him from the front and back. Coach Hicks said afterward that it was not a dirty play. I think I even recall him saying that he has seen tackles like that very often over his years of coaching. So after getting tackled Taylor jogs off the field where he collapses. After calling an ambulance and getting him to the hospital for surgery the doctors realized that his liver had been lacerated severely. One of the doctors said that Taylor’s liver looked as if he had been in a massive car accident. He said he had never seen anything like it.

I arrived at the hospital around 11:30pm. I had gotten a knock on my door at home at about 11:00. Evidently people had been trying to call my cell phone for over an hour trying to get in touch with me to let me know what was going on. My cell phone had been on silent because I had spoken at a church event earlier in the evening and did not want my phone to ring while I was speaking. The hospital was pretty somber. Everyone was in an odd mood not knowing how bad Taylor’s injury really was. Many were very worried. I don’t recall the exact time but Dr. Fox came out to tell us how the surgery went. It was then that I think we all realized how serious the situation was. Dr. Fox was on the verge of tears explaining to us the severity of Taylor’s injury to his liver. He told us we need to pray because he is not out of the woods yet. We all gathered in the hall and prayed desperately for our friend Taylor.

Soon after that they came down to tell Mr. Brian and Ms. Kathy that they had Taylor in ICU and that they could go up to see him. (Taylor’s parents) The doctors were hoping that they could get Taylor stabilized so that they could go back in and try  to repair his liver in another surgery the next morning. I spent much of the night in Taylor’s ICU room with he and his parents. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do as a youth minister. We were hopeful through much of the night but realized that Taylor was in a precarious situation because he continued to lose blood throughout the night. At one point the hospital had even used up its supply of blood and had told Brian and Kathy that Taylor would eventually “bleed out” and would die. Soon after though, they had received more blood and gave Taylor four more units. (There is no telling how much blood he got throughout that night. Conservative estimates are 50-60 units.) Taylor was never conscious and probably never knew what happened once he collapsed on that football field sideline. At around 9:15am on August 30th Brian and Kathy said goodbye to their beloved only son, Taylor Reid Haugen. “T” as he was called by many was fifteen years old.

I don’t recall a time in my life crying as much as I did that weekend. By Tuesday, (The day of his funeral) I was all out of tears. The city of Niceville cried like you wouldn’t believe. We wept for our friend Taylor and his parents. As his mom said in his ICU room that night, “this is not real!” It was truely unbelievable and it still seems that way two weeks later.

Taylor was an amazing human being. He was just a beautiful kid. “T” loved life, people, and especially his God. Over the course of the next fews days after his death we realized what a huge impact this kid made for the kingdom. Story after story was told of how he invited other students to go to church, how he was a friend to those who needed one, and generally how he lived his life with such joy and passion that he inspired those around him. As I type this I think I am still a little numb about all of this. The Wednesday before his death Taylor was at the church having a blast with his friends during our annual water night. Taylor was in the middle of all the fun and was usually the reason for most of it. His life was such a beautiful life that was cut so short.

As Niceville has wept there have also been tears of joy. In our selfishness we want “our” Taylor back. In the midst of all of this I think we have continued to realize that Taylor was never really “ours” anyway. He belonged to God then and he belongs to God now. As one of Taylor’s best friends said, “I’m not sad for Taylor.” (-Trenton Kilby) We know he is with the Father and that is why out tears of sorrow began to become tears of joy.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Over 2100 people came to say goodbye to our beloved friend and brother in Christ. We thank God for allowing us the opportunity to just say we knew him. He lived fifteen beautiful years of life and he lived them passionately. Taylor has inspired all of us to live with the same passion for life and God that he did. “T” has been a light in his life and will continue to be a light even in his death. My life is different because I knew him. Many of you can say the same thing. Father thank you for sharing him with us. And God, thank you for being with us as we weep though this difficult time. You will never leave us nor forsake us.