On April 6, 2018, the lives of 29 families were changed forever when a semi trailer truck T-boned a passenger bus carrying 29 members of the Humboldt Bronco hockey team. It was later determined that the truck driver had inadvertently gone through a stop sign and collided with the bus. Sixteen people were killed and thirteen others were seriously hurt. Darcy Haugan, the Humboldt Bronco head coach, was among those who were killed. He was just completing his third year coaching the team. He was well-liked by his players and respected by others for being a man of character and strong Christian faith.
Standing Tall At Twelve Years Old
Darcy and his wife Christina were married for nearly 17 years. They have 2 sons, Carson and Luke. At the time of the accident Carson was 12 years old. Christina and the 2 boys went to Darcy’s parents’ house right after the accident. Grandpa Leroy was at a loss to pray. In his grief and shock, he had no words to pray. Carson comforted his grandpa and said he would pray. In his prayer, Carson said something like this to the Lord: “Dear God, we don’t understand why you allowed this to happen, but we will continue to trust you.” Darcy had taught his son well. About 5 months after the accident, Carson was baptized and publicly declared his faith in Jesus.
Christina Haugan had been no stranger to grief even before her husband’s sudden and tragic death. When she was 14 years old, her dad suffered a life-changing brain injury in an accident. Christina was one of the older siblings and she had to help mom carry the load within the family home. It wasn’t an easy season of life. Her family was Christian but she struggled with the sense that their church wasn’t helping her mom and siblings as much as they could of and the family needed them. Eventually she came to grips with this disappointment and has faithfully walked with Jesus in her adult years.
At the trial of the truck driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, Christina made the difficult decision to forgive him. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Christina believed that Sidhu was truly remorseful and that he deeply grieved the devastation that he had caused to so many lives. She shared the following words: “The moment I forgave him, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Jesus forgave me, and how many times did Darcy forgive me for a lot of things I’d done over the years? In the same way, I wanted to forgive that man.” This act was a life-changing decision for Christina. It wasn’t easy. As C.S. Lewis once said: “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.” But God’s grace and Christina’s courage and empathy has won a big victory.
A Journey Of Healing Begins
This forgiveness has started a journey of healing for the Haugan family. Christina says that some days are real hard. She is a mom raising 2 sons who don’t have their dad now. But she adds: “I want everyone to know that we’re doing okay. It certainly has been a new journey each day, but we’re doing okay.” A real inspiration for her has been the legacy left by her husband Darcy. He would share with his sons that he didn’t care whether they played hockey or not, but he did care very much that they would follow Jesus in their lives.
Sean Brandow is the team chaplain of the Humboldt Broncos and he was a close friend of Darcy’s. They would fish together and their families would spend time together. Sean said: “There’s a passage in Romans that talks about having a hope that doesn’t disappoint (Rom. 5:5}. And that’s the hope that Christina and I share, Leroy and Shirley (Darcy’s parents) share. That one day we’ll see Darcy in heaven and that’s a powerful hope.” Sean spoke at the team’s memorial service with Prime Minister Trudeau in attendance. Many people around the country heard the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly proclaimed. Sean has traveled around Canada with Hockey Ministries International sharing the message of hope in the midst of tragedy.
My prayer for Christina and her family is that they would continue to have a trusting and open heart to the Lord and that God would continue to bring healing to them each day . May the Lord continue to make them courageous and strong in Him. This is my prayer for each person who has experienced tragic loss in their life.
QOTD: Are there past hurts and loss that you need to surrender to Lord so that His healing grace can begin taking root in your life?