Sarah Landauer

Perhaps you heard of her because she was the third of three athletes that collapsed within a week of each other and died. She was featured on Good Morning America Thursday morning, along with many questions about Sudden Death in Athletes (which is becoming another "Syndrome"). I know her because I taught her in Middle Schoool Youth Group Bible study, her family and mine worship at the same church, and she was a dear friend of my daughter Carolyn.

Sarah Landauer was an intense young lady. She fiercely competed in sports, soccer being her highest priorty. A few years ago she decided to learn and compete in one new sport each year. It was at track practice last Monday that she collapsed and needed three rounds of CPR and a defibrillator just to make it to the hospital. Sports is how the general public in Gainesville knew her. Those close to her and those at church knew her character as well, and we knew she was a dedicated child of God that loved Jesus so much. Within hours of her collapse, there were hundreds of teens with Phil. 4:13 written on their arms in her honor.

This was the verse she had adopted as her own. This is the verse she lived by. And this verse made its way to the arms, the thoughts, and the minds of people who had never opened a Bible in their lives, those who were indifferent to God, and those who believed but maybe hadn't walked as intensely in the Lord as Sarah had. Just go to the Supporting Sarah page on Facebook and read the comments... Athletes, teachers, complete strangers, black, white, Indian, Jew, Muslim, punk... all supporting Sarah by writing a verse on their arms.

Why, why, WHY God? Why take this sweet, loving girl who Loved you so much? and Lived for you to the fullest? The answer was clear to me at her "celebration" service on Saturday. Over 800 in attendance, mostly teenagers, who had never been faced with their own mortality and the reality of a God Who loved them. All loved Sarah and had been impacted by her life, and now they would take away with them the lifelong impact of someone who loved God and that God who loved her and loves each one of them here and now.

We Christians are a strange bunch. In the midst of such a tragedy, with tears in our eyes and streaming down our faces, hearts aching in agony over those who loved her most, we each smile on the inside, knowing that Sarah is not really dead. In fact she is the only one of us that has truly started to LIVE!! She is rid of the flesh and sin which so easily besets us all, and she is running, and jumping, and tearing up that heavenly soccer field! She is laughing and singing, and dancing in the arms of the Love of her Life, Jesus. And she is waiting for each of us, who will be joining her when God sees fit to call us home.

Please pray for the teens in Gainesville, Florida.

Celebrating Sarah:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156458721076990&ref=ts
Supporting Sarah:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195486977140834&ref=ts
TV Coverage:
http://www.wcjb.com/news/8940/remembering-sarah-landauer
And Google "Sarah Landauer" to read more.