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Posted By Katie On July 1, 2015 14 Comments

Joy in Tragedy

Filed Under: Life in North Dakota Tagged With: birthdays, faith, friendship 14 Comments

Miss July is age six today.Miss July

Anika, our youngest child, will celebrate at home, as an “only child” while her sister wraps up Bible camp and her brother finishes cleaning out grain bins on the farm and plays in a baseball game. Last night she snuggled up to me and said, “So this is what it was like with only Hunter and you?” She was referring to my “single mom” days which we openly share about at home.

I said, “Yes I guess so. What do you think of it?”

She said, “Boring and way too quiet.”

Anika age six

She’s the live wire that keeps me going, no matter the circumstances. Above is a capture from my phone when we took off training wheels this week from her bike and she rode away, for 2.5 miles as I briskly followed. 

I am going to share more about Anika after her family birthday supper tonight and an upcoming friends party that I haven’t planned yet. She brings us great joy alongside her brother and sister. 

I haven’t planned her birthday party yet because on June 23 we had tragic news that struck us and many others. Brothers and our beloved friends Zachary and Connor Kvalvog died in a car accident. Zach and our son Hunter have played basketball together since kindergarten.

After we moved from Fargo, Zach wrote Hunter a letter, asking him to keep playing with him. They started a traveling team and together they still played together many weekends a month in the spring and summer for the past seven years. We have sat through hundreds of games watching them, ate countless meals together, stayed at scores of hotels with the team and families and both Zach and Hunter developed their friendship. They didn’t go a week without talking and visited in-person as often as they could. Zach was like a brother to Hunter, his best friend. Connor was the spunky little brother who always wanted to push them and play with them. 

I have tried for days to sit down and write memories, emotions or even prayer requests into a blog post. None of the right words come out. I sat in bed last night until after midnight with my computer on my lap with a blank Word document in front of me. I will share more as the words come to me. For now, we are mourning and grieving. I am writing down Bible scripture that bring comfort and will share that in the future also. In the midst of many heartaches of the world, many mourn and I hope in the future I can share some of the comfort we have found in the midst of tragedy.

Please pray for our dear friends Ray and Kathie who have lost their only children, their sons. Their life is painful, broken and I believe only our prayers and God’s strength can help them each and every day. Pray for the many hurting. Families, forever friends, classmates, teammates, teachers, coaches, a community. Pray for a full recovery, physically and for emotional healing for the two teammates and friends, Mark and Jimmy that were seriously injured and survived the accident. 

As a mother, I cannot fix any of this heartache. I feel helpless. I cannot take away the pain of my son or the many others hurting. Hunter is quiet. He is mourning. We are taking time to grieve. But he is trying to keep going. Tonight he will play baseball. Zach would want him to. 

The most important thing I can share with you is that Zach and Connor loved Jesus and they are in heaven. Despite all the earthly pain, there is hope. A young girl sang at the funeral. Her bravery of sharing her gifts impacted me. Lord, I Need You has been in my heart now for two days. I sing it. I downloaded it. Here it is for you listen to. 

You can see news coverage of the funeral here and the YouTube link to the prayer service the night of the accident. Hunter speaks around 43 minutes. 

I am crying out again as I try to wrap this up. But I have a bundle of joy that is still sleeping up in her bed that I am grateful to walk upstairs now to wake on her sixth birthday.

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Previous Post: « Ladies Night on a North Dakota farm
Next Post: Dalton First Responders: The Godly rest of the story »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darlene says

    July 1, 2015 at 9:59 am

    No words can completely take the pain away but in time we will heal. So sorry for your loss. Prayers to the families and yours. I walked up to Hunter last week at a baseball game and gave him a huge hug. I hope it gave him some comfort.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:12 am

      Darlene, keep giving hugs! Thank you.

      Reply
  2. Maggie Malson says

    July 1, 2015 at 2:35 pm

    So very sorry for the loss you are all feeling. Our community is also mourning the loss of a young man and praying for his younger brother to recovery soon after an auto accident last weekend. They are the only two sons of church and 4-H friends of ours. It is so hard to see through all the heartache now, but we are so thankful for the hope we have in Jesus. God bless you all. Happy Birthday to your Little Miss July!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:12 am

      Maggie, thank you. Will keep your family and community in our prayers also.

      Reply
  3. Kim @ Kim's County Line says

    July 1, 2015 at 2:39 pm

    I’m so sorry. I have tears in my eyes for all of you as I listen to the song. Prayers especially for their parents, but also for all of you impacted by this tragic loss. I will never understand, but I hope some day some of these hardest questions will be answered.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:13 am

      Thank you Kim. Prayers for the Kvalvog parents are so needed and appreciated. Thank you again.

      Reply
  4. Montana Ranch Family says

    July 1, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    I can only imagine your pain. May God hold you all near during the days of grieving.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:14 am

      Thank you. Please keep our friends, the Kvalvogs in your prayers. Much appreciated.

      Reply
  5. Diana says

    July 1, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Prayers for you all as you seek understanding and peace in the days ahead.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:14 am

      Thank you for your prayers!

      Reply
  6. Beth says

    July 2, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    Prayers for all of you. Awful and tragic and I haven’t stopped thinking about you and this…. Prayers and more prayers.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:15 am

      Thank you for your many prayers and thoughts, Beth. They are felt and appreciated.

      Reply
  7. Brittany Griffin says

    July 7, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    A friend shared your blog with me on Facebook today. I’m so sorry to hear of the tragic loss of the Kvalvog boys. A local family just lost their 2 boys in a car accident about a month ago – they were only 2 and a newborn. Their loss has been great, and I’m sure they can identify with the Kvalvog family. You can look up Prayers for the Eddings family on Facebook and find much encouragement and love in the midst of tragedy. I’m sure your friendship, prayers and love mean the world to this family right now.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dalton First Responders: The Godly rest of the story says:
    July 6, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    […] every Saturday on Agweek. It has been a weekly discipline for me to write. Last week in the midst of mourning and grieving the loss of the Kvalvog boys it was difficult for me to write anything that was […]

    Reply

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I am a mom of three kids and a wife to Nathan. Together we live on the North Dakota prairie, 97 miles from a Starbuck's. I share about family, food, farming and the prairie that I love. I used to commute 98 miles one-way to work but it required too much coffee. So now I am home, consulting, speaking, writing and primarily, juggling family life.
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