When Sophia Smiled

I woke up that Friday morning like so many other Friday's before...opened my eyes, turned off my alarm, grabbed my phone off the charger, and out of habit clicked on my Facebook app. With groggy eyes, I started reading the first post on my news feed as I walked toward the bathroom, but within those few seconds, my heart skipped a beat. The post I was reading stated that a young girl was missing, something that had become all too common in the recent years, yet this post wasn't a random news station feed, this post was that of a family friend and the young girl missing was one of my daughter's close friends.

I quickly turned around and began walking briskly to my daughter's bedroom, I had to let her know that her friend was missing, but more-so, I was hoping she would have information for me that would tell me her friend was safely back home. Just inside my daughter's bedroom door, the soft, somber words left my mouth "Bryana," I said, "Sophia Porter's missing..." Just as I had done only moments earlier, my daughter jolted out of bed, her eyes full of fear. She grabbed her phone, then looked up at me shaking her head, asking "What do we do?" I walked to her side, gave her a hug and said, "Pray she's already made it home safely."

The next half-hour was spent replying to that post, sending prayers to the family and trying to push back the worry and fear from my mind, just as I was sure her parents were doing only a few blocks away. Though my stomach was in knots, I finished getting ready for work, then woke my husband to let him know I was leaving. It was then, after checking Facebook for updates and not seeing anything new, that I shared the news with him. His reaction mirrored mine, as he quickly sat up and said, "What do you mean missing?" I read him the post with my voice cracking, Sophia was due home at 3 AM, yet by 6 AM she still hadn't arrived and her parent's calls to her phone were going directly to voice mail. "She's missing...", I said again and added, "She had a long drive from a cheer camp in Mississippi, so I just pray she pulled over for rest and she's still asleep, not realizing it's morning." My husband agreed, she had pulled over for rest and they would hear from her soon. In the meantime, though, he would reach out for updates and see if a plan was being put into place to trace her route, saying he would do what he could to help bring her home safely.

I took comfort in my husbands words, but when I went to tell my daughter good-bye the words from the post were still swimming in my mind.  I gave Bryana another tight hug and asked her to let me know as soon as she heard something more about Sophia, telling her I'd do the same. She looked at me with eyes full of pain and I lingered at the doorway, not wanting to leave. Finally, with a final "I love you!" I closed the door behind me and headed to my car, nausea growing inside, my gut telling me things were not right, yet still uncertain exactly what might have happened.

As I closed my car door, I said another prayer for Sophia and just then my phone lit up. It was a text from the high school cheer coach and it only took the first sentence to make my chest hurt, as I struggled to breathe. I knew I had to tell Bryana, not realizing she had received the text, too, so I tried getting back inside the house as quickly as possible. I bolted through the door and heard my daughter's screams and as I reached her inside, she fell into my arms. "NO!!!!!!!!" she was screaming, "NO!!!!!!!"

Sophia was gone, a tragic early morning accident that had taken place just a few miles up the road, every parent's worst nightmare and the shock of this news riveted every inch of my body.  Me and Bryana sunk together to the floor, sobbing and clinging, as my husband rushed into the room with the look on his face saying everything I was feeling. I thought of her parents and cried harder, prayed louder, and clung to my little girl, who was shaking in my arms. "What do we do?" she was asking me again. "What do we do?" I didn't know, the answers escaped me, no words of wisdom came to my mind, I just held her, rocked her, and loved her more in that moment than ever before.

Over the next several days, as I tried to understand the sudden loss of a beautiful young girl, tried to comfort my daughter over the loss of a close friend, paid condolences and said so many prayers for Sophia's family, I struggled for purpose in a tragedy that questioned my faith in a God that would allow such a bright shining light to fade from our lives, from our community, from her family. This was someone with an amazing future ahead of her, someone with her heart opened widely to those around her, and someone with talents not fully tapped. Sophia's smile was as contagious as her laugh and those blessed enough to know her would say she lit up a room just by walking into it, just from her presence, just from her smile.

On that following Monday, the family, friends and community gathered to celebrate the life of Sophia Ascensio-Porter, a beautiful young woman just 18 years old with excitement to cheer in the fall for the UofA Fort Smith where she had planned to attend college. The first thing that amazed me upon entering the church, was the proud smile on her parents faces as they thanked people for coming and reminded us that God is great, he had put all of these wonderful people in their daughter's life, but didn't they understand that we were the lucky ones for knowing Sophia and being blessed to be part of her life? I couldn't hold back the tears as I approached them, hugged them, and told them how sorry I was for their loss. Their strength was so uplifting, so miraculous, so inspiring, just as their precious Sophia had been.

I realized in the stories, tears & laughter shared that afternoon that I was witness to God's love, power and blessing on an entire congregation of people who had loved, honored and cherished this beautiful young woman, from birth to adult-hood, she had touched so many with her thoughtful words, encouragement, laughter and sparkling smile. The lessons learned within a tragedy are never forgotten; live life to the fullest, share your love of God each day, and lift up others upon every opportunity. Sophia lived her life in this manner, leaving behind the most wonderful memories. When Sophia smiled, we all smiled with her, and we will all smile each time we remember her; today, tomorrow and always.

May you forever rest in God's loving arms with your beautiful new set of wings, Sophia.