Remembering Samuel
Christmas brings special memories of special people that touch our lives in deep, meaningful ways. One person that I remember this Christmas season is Samuel Gaff. I had known him from the time he was just about four or five years old. He had beautiful blond wavy hair, and his contagious smile would light up any room. He loved to have fun and would always tell a joke or make some laugh; he was a pint-sized comedian. He loved his brothers and sister immensely, and when his baby brother was born, there was no sign of jealousy, just pure love, and he was always eager to teach him how to do something and to encourage him. I had the privilege of teaching him how to play the violin. He was an excellent musician, and God had given him the gift of being able to play by ear, which was also challenging for a teacher, but he worked very hard at his playing. Always at every lesson, after he had worked hard at what I wanted him to do, he would end the session by saying, “Mrs. Turner, you are the best teacher and I thank God you are my teacher.” It never failed. I thank God for Samuel. Samuel’s beautiful life ended in suicide. I remember the evening I got the call from his sister. I was making supper for my family and the phone rang, and it was Hannah. I could tell she was crying and she said, “Samuel is dead, he killed himself.” I was stunned. Not Samuel. Not our beautiful, gentle Samuel. He was just fourteen when he died. On the drive to be with Hannah, I remembered all the joy Samuel had brought into my life. He loved to talk and share, and I wondered why he didn’t share whatever was troubling him enough to commit suicide. There, I said the word. I hate that word. There is a void in every life Samuel touched, because he is gone. But I think Samuel would want people to be aware of how devastating the suicide rates are among teenagers today.
A friend of my niece, Amy, has done a video on suicide and its relationship to bullying. There is no evidence to prove or point to bullying in Samuel’s case, but I still think he would want people to be aware of it, and so I encourage you to please watch this video. Please take the time to see it through to the end, and if you would be kind enough to leave comments they would be greatly appreciated. This is dedicated to the memory of Samuel Gaff.
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