The Text
When the stadium roared to life because of something players on the field had done, Stanton roared also, but for a very different reason.
At exactly 2:02 pm, Stanton’s mother texted him. His father had just passed away. She had tried to reach him earlier but he wasn’t available.
“Your father passed away this morning. Come soon. Tried to call. No answer.”
The fans all around him cheered at the sport heroics on the field; Stanton stared at the phone. For him, life froze as he read that text a hundred times at least.
Even as he excused himself down the long aisle of people, he blinked in disbelief and shook his head a million times.
He shook it another million times before he got to the car. Leaving in the second quarter allowed him to collect his thoughts without the stress of traffic.
Would he even go home?
The fans in the stadium cheered at another touchdown.
How could they cheer at a time like this?
That’s right, nobody else knows.
In the stadium crowd when the news first came, Stanton felt alone.
In his car with no one around, he felt alone and empty.
It would be a difficult drive home two States and six hours away. He would have to be strong for his mother by the end of the day today, but with God’s strength, Stanton would first have to grieve alone in the car before he made the trip.
Then they could weep together.
Death is complex. Even though you know it's coming, you're never prepared.
Stanton starts his grieving in solitude; but weeping together with his mother and others will help in that journey. The grief will never go away completely, but it will become bearable--in his own time.