Tribute to Leanna

To paraphrase King Solomon, there are two things too wonderful for me. One is watching a child grow up to accept adult responsibilities. The second is witnessing the change in a person who has been enticed along a destructive path, change directions and become fervent in the faith. Sometimes both of these factors come together in a single individual.

When I first met Leanna Hollon she was an animated three year old with auburn colored curly locks. She went through grade school, the years of braces, the friends at camp, to become a lady of beauty. There were the inevitable teen years when she made some wrong choices. There was the time during her senior year in high school when she crawled on the bed next to her mom for a talk. “Mom, I’ve got something to tell you,” she said. Somehow mom sensed what was coming and gave voice to her fears. Leanna was pregnant.

Leanna made the decision to remove herself from the destructive influence that was causing so much damage. It wasn’t easy. How many times every day must a person say “no” to himself before self-control is achieved? But she made the break. It was clean and it was permanent. She graduated from high school and Conner was born. She took to motherhood like she was made for it. I think she was. She was diligent, hard-working and self sacrificing. She worked to support herself while family, friends and the congregation gave emotional support. God was turning a trial into a great blessing.

And then Leanna made the most important decision any human being can ever make. She made a covenant with God to repent and live by faith in Jesus Christ. She was always at church, frequently singing a selection of Special Music that reflected her commitment to faith.

Then she met Kevin, who teaches young children and had a natural affinity for Conner. He and Leanna seemed ideally suited for each other. They dated and Kevin proposed. She accepted and he visited her in Cincinnati. He stayed with Leanna’s parents while she maintained her house a few miles away. A late December wedding was planned. An engagement party was scheduled for Saturday night.

But plans changed. Thursday morning they were leaving her parents home for an appointment with the engagement photographer. In their excitement neither noticed the traffic as they pulled onto the road and into the path of an SUV. Leanna was killed almost instantly.

Wise old King Solomon could express amazement over the wonders and mystery of the way an eagle can catch an updraft and soar through the air, or the way a ship moves across the sea (Proverbs 30:19). As marvelous as it is nothing in creation compares with the spirit in man. The ability of a human being for self-examination is beyond comprehension. God seems to have given man the ability to put his heart on a table and dissect it like a surgeon with a scalpel. It is this characteristic that separates men from animals. In fact the Apostle Paul tells us “Let a man examine himself. And so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28)

Age, station in life, race or sex; all are irrelevant. The person who can see himself as he is and make course corrections has found the secret of life. Not only is it true success, it is the requirement for every person who wishes to be in the Kingdom of God.

Leanna, it was a privilege to know you. The resurrection is a split second away.

Until next time,