Ryan was a sweet, humble, and outgoing young man. He was an all-star athlete, loved-God, loved his family, and cared deeply about his friends. One weekend, he came back from college with his brother. His brother had to get back to school early because he had an early class, so Ryan stayed at home to spend more time with his family. On Sunday evening, Ryan sat down with his mom and told her his dreams. He had dreams of being a Christian film director. He wanted to live in Hollywood and make films about Jesus. He said, “Mom, I’m telling you now so that when the time comes, you can’t say I didn’t tell you!”
The next day, Ryan got in his car to head back to school. As he was driving, a gas and oil equipment truck was heading towards him. The gas and oil truck had two permits to distribute 11,000 lbs. of weight between two trucks, but the company decided to cut some corners and put all the weight on one single truck. Ryan and the truck both made a sharp turn with the curve of the road and as the truck turned, the truckload shifted and 11,000 lbs. of weight came crashing down on Ryan’s car. Ryan was thrown over another car and landed on his side. While Ryan was staggering for breath during the last 30 minutes of his life, some by-passers came over and prayed with him on the side of the road. After their prayers, Ryan stopped struggling and looked towards heaven, ready to come home.
After Ryan’s death, his family found out about the many wonderful things he did throughout his lifetime that they never knew about. Everyday, Ryan impacted someone for Christ. Although Ryan is gone, his legacy still lives on. Ryan’s family feels even more urgency to tell others about Christ. After experiencing the loss of their son and brother, they know that moments on earth are fleeting, and every moment should be spent sharing the love of Jesus.
