Too Precious - Reflecting On A Family Tragedy

Sitting at the memorial service for my cousin Traci's 2 sons, CJ & Nolan Smith this past Friday really struck a chord with me. I cannot even begin to imagine the suffering and anguish felt by her and her husband, Frankie. CJ and Nolan were killed in a car accident January 9th and died at the scene. They were on their way home from a ball game when they were hit by a drunk driver. In a world with so much evil, so much tragedy and so much hate, I have to ask myself, why these 2 young boys? Why this family? Why this senseless loss of life?

I never met these two boys and have not seen my cousin Traci since high school. I keep them in my thoughts and prayers and wish there was more I could do for them. At the memorial service, the boys' Uncle Mike got up to speak and share some memories of CJ and Nolan. He spoke the words of song that happen to play on the radio when he was pondering the heartbreaking loss of his two young nephews. The song he read the lyrics to was Move Along by The All-American Rejects. I know this song well and it got me thinking how every day we are bombarded with the evils of the world and sometimes, without even realizing it, something as simple as the lyrics to a song is quietly telling us not to give up and to keep moving on in life. Here are the lyrics:


Move Along

Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall, everyone sins
Another day, and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your...
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold
Speak to me

When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along

So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a hear that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your...
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold
Speak to me

When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)

When everything is wrong, we move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
When everything is wrong we move along
Along, along, along, along

When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do (Know you do!)
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through

(Move along)
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along
Right back what is wrong
We move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along

Performed By: The All American Rejects
Written By: Tyson Ritter & Nick Wheeler
(Universal Music MGB Songs)

He also played the song and shared something someone had once told him in the wake of another loss he suffered. He said, "Some people are just too precious to be here on the earth." I know these two little boys will be missed tremendously and their parents, Traci and Frankie, will mourn the loss of their sons for the rest of their lives. I can only hope and pray that they will cling to eachother and find in themselves the strength they will need to live their lives and know they still have each other. They can help each other make it through this tragic time and keep the memory of their sons alive.

Hold your loved ones close to you always and cherish the times you have together. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it is really hard to see or even comprehend the reason for something so tragic, but the Lord works in mysterious ways. The teenagers who chose to drink and drive will face worldly consequences, the guilt and sorrow and remorse of their actions, as well as the consequences it may bring in the life after this.

To my cousin Traci, her husband Frankie, and all of the family and friends affected by this tragedy, I wish them peace and the ability to someday forgive so that they can move on. To the rest of us, I hope we all learn from this and do our best to live good examples for our children and their peers, so they may never have to live with the terrible regret and consequences of fatal choice.

Rest in peace little CJ and Nolan. You were greatly loved by so many and indeed, too precious to stay here on the earth.
Nolan Smith, age 6 and Frankie (CJ) Smith, age 11