Inspire, Summer 2004

18 Summer 2004 Life was so very good on Saturday, June 1, 2002. For the second time in four years, our family had gathered at the Dixon Ministry Center on the Cedarville University campus to watch our daughter, Julie, shake the hand of Dr. Paul Dixon ’94H, walk across the platform, and stroll out into the world as a Cedarville graduate. After we squeezed into our row at the graduation ceremony, my wife, Sue (Tuttle) ’74, looked at her family surrounding her — our 15-year-old son, Steve; our 17-year-old daughter, Melissa; our married daughter, Lisa Branon Spangler ’98; her husband, Todd ’98, and Julie’s boyfriend, Ewing Sharp — with a heart of joy and appreciation. Sue was so very proud of her clan, and so full of hope for the future. Together we all listened to Dr. Dixon deliver another of his fine commencement addresses. He titled his talk, “Our Times are In God’s Hands.”What a significant truth, we thought, as he sent out the charge to the graduating seniors. How appropriate for these seniors to understand that God is in control. Seated with her family around her, my wife agreed, but consciously thought, “Yes, but please, Lord, don’t let anything happen to my children.” After the festivities were over and we were mingling in the Alumni Hall of the DMC, our family happened to meet up with Dr. Dixon. Having known him for many years, I felt comfortable reminding him that we were two-for-two so far — with our two oldest daughters now holding sheepskins from Cedarville. Add my diploma from the ’Ville to that total, and that made three of us with that proud distinction. Then I introduced Dr. Dixon to my high-school-aged children Melissa and Steve, and I rather sheepishly mentioned that it appeared that Melissa was going to break our streak. I told Dr. Dixon that Mell had designs on going to college somewhere where it is warm — preferably Florida. She liked to say that she wanted to go to a school where she could take her surfboard to class. Dr. Dixon smiled and seemed to understand that sometimes even Cedarville families don’t bat 1.000. After all, our lives are in God’s hands, not Cedarville’s. Later that day, other family members gathered with us at a restaurant in Fairborn. Cousins, nephews, and nieces from as far away as Tennessee had come to congratulate Julie. It was one big, proud, celebrating family. How could we ever have known that this happy Saturday would be the last time our family would ever — could ever — be together? Five days later, our celebration of all that is grand and good in this life was shattered — altered by an event so life-changing that it still stuns us today. Just five days after we were so proudly surrounded by our family — five days after listening to what we thought were uplifting, challenging words about our lives and God’s hands, the most unspeakable tragedy smashed our dreams to pieces. For Melissa, June 6 was the last day of her junior year of high school. In the morning, she took her last final exam, a math test. At home in her room, she had left scattered across the floor the evidence that she had crammed for that exam the night before. But thoughts of Algebra II were left far behind as soon as that test was over, for she and a bunch of her friends from Grand Rapids Baptist High School (Michigan) took off for the beach. In God’s Hands b y D a v i d B r a n o n ’ 7 3 Pictured from left to right: Melissa Branon, Todd ’98 and Lisa Branon Spangler ’98, Julie Branon Sharp ’02, Steve Branon, and Dave ’73 and Sue Tuttle Branon ’74