Reminder: Don’t Take Our Children For Granted

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

2022 Blog #16

April 25, 2022

Reminder: Don’t Take Our Children For Granted

Friday is the one day that I take off each week. It is often a busy day with my catching up on errands and getting domestic projects done that I have not gotten to during the week. I do lead a very busy life. This past Friday was the greatest and worst of all possible days.

It started out rather well. I spent the day at the home of one of my daughters. We helped her set up the new bedroom for her two boys. My other daughter and her son also joined us. It is always fun to have family dinners, especially when all three of my grandsons are present. I’m still nostalgic when it comes to a family gathered around a dinner table sharing a meal and sharing lives with one another.

I was in a tremendous mood as I left to drive back home and drop my other daughter and grandson back at their home in the nearby town of New Milford. I was surprised when I entered her complex and saw a ring of police, fire department vehicles, and all manner of emergency vehicles. I did not know what was happening but with all the vehicles present I knew that the incident could not be good.

I stopped and ask several people in the crowd of spectators that were gathered. These people informed me that a teenager, a senior at New Milford High School, had entered the pond in the center of the complex and had never come out. The emergency vehicles were conducting a search and recovery operation. Approximately one hour after I spoke to these concerned people, the young man’s body was recovered. As feared, he was deceased.

I did not learn any details until the next day. The details distressed me as much as the initial report. Clinten Ajit is the deceased young man. He was eighteen years old and a high school senior. He was doing a good deed at the time of his death. A group of younger people were playing soccer when their ball was kicked into a pond in the center of the complex. Clinten volunteered to enter the water and retrieve the ball. One of the soccer-playing boys described Clinten walking into the water and with each step, sinking until he was out of sight.

Now a family is grieving. An entire community is in shock. School friends are in disbelief at losing a fellow student who was described as friendly, driven, and popular.  I’m sure that the group of soccer players are feeling guilty. It was their soccer ball that Clinten was fetching at the time of his death. None of the people who had interacted with Clinten on his final day could have imagined that this was the last time that they would be seeing them.

Life is short. We cannot take tomorrow for granted. This tragedy reminds us of the importance of showing affection toward those we love. We can’t wait for tomorrow to do so. Tomorrow may never come. None of us know how many days we have or how many days our loved-ones have. Let us pray for all those who are now grieving Clinten’s death. Let us remember to love those around us and treat them as if it is the last time that we will see them. It just might be.

#ReformedChurchInAmerica                                 #PastorMarkAuthor            

#BergenCounty                                                        #BergenfieldNJ

# NewMilfordNJ                                                        #DorchesterManor

# NewMilfordHighSchool                                        #ClintenAjit

To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/