Timo

   On October 24, 2000 something no one ever expected to happen did. Timo Wright, a brother, a son, and a friend to many swerved off the road, over corrected and wrecked his car. He was instantly killed. He was only 17 years old, a senior at Fluvanna County High School. He was going to be his class Valadictorian.
    We all have good memories of Timo. He had no enemies...he was a great kid, easy to get along with. I knew him since 8th grade...he was in my Sunday School class, and he stood out. He always wore green shorts and spiked hair. I used to tease him and call him "Sonic" because he looked like Sonic the hedgehog with all those spikes. I had a crush on him in 10th grade and wrote him a note...it took me an hour to get up enough nerve to call him and ask if he had read it. He always was full of questions in Sunday school but sometimes we had to kick him to wake him up! He used to run track at school and boy was he fast! He also swam on the swim team and snowboarded and wakeboarded. He was smart too...was gonna go to UVa or Harvard. When he was little, he and his brother Mitchell set up a lemonaide stand. Since buisness was slow, Mitchell dared him to throw a rock at a passing car. Being Timo, he not only hit the window, but broke it as well. Mitchell made sure, as a responsible big brother should, that the driver and his parents knew where Timo had run to. Once Timo set up a trampoline near their basketball net so he could slam dunk...he did so 4 times before falling and breaking his arm. Timo was a wonderful kid, full of life and joy. He was always smiling.
    We'll never know why, in this life, he was taken so young. It doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem real. It's like a bad dream. I can't believe that I'll never see his face in Sunday school again...I'll never be able to say, "Hey Sonic, what's up!" He didn't even get to graduate. But you know what? He's with God now. He's in His arms. He'll never have to deal with the pain of this world again. Timo is not dead...he is alive and well in heaven, smiling down on us, spikes, green shorts and all. And he didn't die in vain either. When his death was announced at Fuel the Fire, our church's youth service, 20-30 kids accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In Timo's death, 20-30 kids found eternal life.
     Those kids realized, and so did many others, including myself...that life is short. Tell the people you love them that you do...you don't know if it's gonna be the last time you'll see them. Live your life as if every day could be your last, because indeed, it could be. And stop playing games...get right with God. Now is the time to do it because you might not have tomorrow or next week. If you died right now, would you go to heaven? I know, and I am comforted to say I would. But if you can't say that...talk to someone about it...a Christian friend or parent or e-mail me! This is a matter of life and death...eternal life and death. Timo left a legacy when he died...will you???