Remembering Praise

It's been a week of grief around here, what a strange juxtaposition from this weekend of joy celebrating Jenn & Sandeep's wedding. Our friend Praise passed away very suddenly on Monday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people shocked and struggling at various levels with intense grief. She had been traveling overseas in Singapore and Thailand in the past few weeks, and the doctors suspect she contracted some kind of virus that began spreading through her body. She didn't know she was sick until Sunday at church, went to the ER, was admitted for having trouble breathing, and passed away 24 hours later when her lung collapsed and her heart stopped. And the doctors still couldn't figure out what it was that was attacking her body, or how to treat it. I know her family is in complete shock, along with the church community she grew up in (here in the area) and Fuller's campus. Praise graduated from Fuller with me in 2009 and just began a job working in the office of admissions here. She was extremely active with the youth at her church, and thanks to facebook I've seen the incredibly raw grief these kids are struggling with--not understanding why this happened to someone so absolutely incredible. To be honest, we're all struggling with that question. None of us understand, and that feeling sucks. She was a surfing buddy of Charles' their whole first year here, and made incredible efforts to reach out to me, to bring me into the surfing community even if I didn't actually ride waves. Praise didn't care, she just loved people so much she simply wanted them around and included. From the moment I met her (and learned that her name really is Praise, that's not a nickname!) I was always a little in awe of her. She is one of those people who absolutely radiates pure joy whenever you come into contact with her. She loved Jesus passionately, and she took seriously His call to go and love the least of His children, to give a voice to those who had none. Praise teamed up with the Sold Project an organization that is working around the world to prevent child prostitution and to empower people to act out against this horrific trend happening around the world. Not too many 28 year old women spend their breaks from work/school in places like Thailand working to bring light and justice to incredibly dark places. Praise adored being at the beach, playing in the water, taking pictures, experiencing the beauty that surrounds her. And now she's with Jesus, experiencing the unimaginable beauty that awaits all of us, her brothers and sisters in Christ someday. She loved taking jumping pictures--photos in famous place of people jumping up in the air. Someone wrote on her facebook page after she died "I can almost hear you asking Jesus to jump so you can take his picture." What a photo that would be! But the rest of us are sad. Are so so sad. It's been a long time since something has hit me like this, and I think for Chuck too. I am so grateful that we're able to grieve together, that I had a man who is willing to sit with me as I weep, who will reach out and walk with me as we both struggle to come to terms with this. And honestly, we're angry. This isn't right. There is no reason someone as incredible as Praise should be gone. There have been some beautiful moments that have come since her death because of her, but that doesn't make it easier. We're grieving alongside many of our friends, and it's been a rough few days for all of us. We miss her, her laugh, her beautiful smile, her genuine "how are you doing?" that she'd ask as she met you around campus. We were saying that it seemed like Praise lived more life in 28 years than most people do in a full lifetime, which is so inspiring to us. I know Chuck wishes he could go catch waves with her this weekend, instead of going out with their other buddies in memory of Praise. We were talking the other night about how sometimes it seems like when you name a child, their name ends up being a bit prophetic. There truly is no other way we could describe your life, dear friend, than a life of Praise.