Tragedy strikes

In March I received one of the most unfortunate phone calls of my life.  It was a normal Saturday morning in the Richardson house.  We were eating breakfast and getting the boys ready for one of their baseball games.  Then the phone rang.  A sister from church called to tell me that a wonderfully beautiful soul, Savannah Griffiths, was in a terrible car accident and that she was in a coma.  The doctors didn't know if she would make it.  As I hung up the phone I instantly started shaking and the tears began to fall.  I couldn't believe it.  It was a total shock. 

Let me tell you about Savannah.   First, Savannah's family had moved from Pennsylvania to Texas about a year before this had happened.  While they were in Pennsylvania Savannah's family were dear friends of ours and loved by so so many in our ward and in the community.  Savannah had the most beautiful smile.  She was the kindest person I'd ever known.  She loved people and animals, especially her horse.  She was in our ward.  Tim spent time with her and other youth during his time as Young Men's president.  I taught her in Sunday School.  She was our babysitter.  She came to our house often to play with the boys so Tim and I could go out.  We called her the baby whisperer because she could always get our kids to bed at night, even Gavin who wouldn't sleep for anyone but me.  She always made sure the house was tidy before we came home.  She was in my mind the perfect babysitter.  Not only that she was so Christlike in all she did.  She loved, served, and shared her light with everyone she met.  She was always positive and spoke with the tongue of an angel.  She loved karate.  She loved photography.  She loved fashion and wanted to study in Paris, France.  She was smart.  she was sweet.  Everyone who knew Savannah loved Savannah.

Several days after that first phone call I prayed that she would be okay.  That somehow, by some miracle she'd make it and be able to recover.  Several days we waited for an update.  The boys prayed every night for her recovery.  Tim had to go on a business trip the day after we heard the news and I found myself crying all hours of the day, hiding in the bathroom so the boys wouldn't see my pain.  Then another phone call came.  It was the call I didn't ever want to get.  Savannah had passed away.  She had gone to be with her Heavenly Father again.  I was devastated and all I could think about was the pain her parents and brother must have been going through.  She was too young to go.  For whatever reason it was her time to go, but she left an impression on the hearts of so many. Her memory, her influence will be felt forever.  In her 16 years of life she had an impact that was far reaching.  That legacy speaks to the kind of person she truly was and we will miss her special spirit.

I am thankful to have the knowledge of the gospel that she is in a most wonderful place.  I envision her like the picture above.  I will always remember my boys always running up to Savannah and being so excited to see her!  She taught them karate moves, she read to them, played cars with them, played games with them, and made them smile each and every time she was with them.  Thank you Savannah for showing us what it means to be Christlike.  Thank you for being a part of our lives.

Savannah was an angel on Earth and now she is an angel in heaven.