I couldn’t help but wonder how someone’s death could have such a positive impact. When I was growing up, being a Greek girl was the coolest thing in the world. My faith and heritage with my Church molded me to who I am today. Every Sunday my family and I would hop into our little white Jimmy and head down the winding road to Church. As a community, we were so proud and true to our Greek heritage; it made us closer than I could ever be with anyone else. Through our ups and downs together, our Greek family over the years has truly influenced me to be the person I am today.
When our priest chose to retire after forty years, a new priest followed. Throughout his first year, he managed to tear our Church family apart. Fewer and fewer people came to church, cliques were formed, and long time family friends fought with each other. Our Greek family and Church was slowly falling apart, as was I.
My Church family was a big part of my life. When someone was affected, we all were. When I saw that our community was falling apart, I felt my faith beginning to crumble beneath me. It was a scary thing to think that relationships over the years built so strong, could end so quickly. Still somewhat of a little girl at the time, I couldn’t grasp that the next few years would be such a bumpy road. I lost family friends that meant the world to me. I recognized my faith was being challenged for the first time.
My faith was challenged with the horrible news of Elie Khoury’s death. This became a huge hurdle for our Church. I just couldn’t believe a brother in Christ from our youth group was gone. Continuing through this time I constantly questioned, “Where has God gone?” and “Has He left with my faith?”
Before the funeral, I remember how person after person struggled to walk up to Elie’s casket. We all felt so much pain. I took my seat right behind his parents. Still fixed in my mind was his mom’s nonstop crying. She was helplessly wrapped in her husband’s arms and my heart sank.
Looking around me, I saw people that slowly disappeared from the church come back again. Our Church family had reunited to help the Khoury family through this tragedy. As I focused back on the service, I noticed our whole church began to chant “αιώνια η μνήμη” meaning may his memory be eternal. Tears fell, not only in mourning, but that our Greek family was once again brought together as quickly as it had fallen apart.
It’s sad that something so tragic had to happen to fix the situation. They say the good always die young, and Elie really was a good blessing to our Church. He not only brought us back together but made us stronger in our faith. Growing up in the church I’ve learned that life isn’t perfect. There will always be bumps in the road but with even a little faith, anything is possible to overcome.
