LaSharon Powell spent much of her short life learning about her faith.

Even at the 17-year-old's death, she helped teach others the true meaning of the word.

Hundreds of family, friends and Mansfield students gathered in Cornerstone Baptist Church on Tuesday, as pictures of the Legacy High School student were shown in a digital slideshow on screens. Powell was killed after the black Pontiac G5 she rode in struck a tree last week. Four other girls in the car were injured, with three treated and released from local hospitals while the fourth remains hospitalized. The cause of the accident is still being investigated, according to police spokesman Thad Penkala.

LaSharon's white casket was surrounded by flowers at the front of the pulpit. During the service, senior pastor Rev. William Dwight McKissic Sr. pointed to the question that many people may have asked after learning of the death.

"That's kind of the way some of us look at things when tragic things happen," he said. "Where was the Lord?"

The answer lay in a young girl's devotion.

Born Sept. 20, 1990, LaSharon "LaLa" Powell took to church early, eventually participating in church and school choirs. According to the church, Powell attended Miller Elementary, Young Junior High, Martin High, Mansfield High and Legacy High. During the summer, Powell worked at Six Flags Over Texas.

Her faith impressed her former Sunday school teacher, Rev. Egon Settle, who is no longer a member of Cornerstone.

"She wanted to know more about Christ. She never wanted to stop learning about Jesus," he told those gathered Tuesday. "That was the center of her heart."

The devotion was an outgrowth from her parents, Settle said, which he witnessed when visiting the grieving parents and discovering their faith unquestioned.

"When I learned about the accident, I was speechless," he said. "I saw Mr. and Mrs. Powell, and my sadness stopped. I know now why she was so great."

Rev. Anthony Criss explained he saw that faith after visiting LaSharon's parents.

"I was at the door and I said, 'The Lord will strengthen you.' And (Everett) told me 'That's what he's been doing,'" Criss told the crowd, explaining that such faith had imbued the family with confidence.

And people would need that kind of faith to grapple with the loss of the girl. McKissic said that the mourning should not be for LaSharon, and indeed the proceedings were hailed as a "Celebration of Life" and a "home going." Tears should flow, he said, because so many have yet to go to the place LaSharon was headed.

"LaSharon is all right, but it's the rest of us" who must remain on earth, McKissic said. "LaSharon is better in God's hands than she is in her parents' hands. We may have been surprised by the home going of this young girl, but it didn't surprise God."

What may have surprised some was the strength of the family.

"This family has been a marvelous testimony of trusting God's hand, of trusting his heart," McKissic said. "She grew up with only 17 short years, but they were happy years."

Pastor Michael Evans of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, a member of the Mansfield school board, pointed to a lesson he hoped LaSharon's death taught to the youths in the audience.

"I say so many times, we think we've got a long time to get it together," he said. "To the students, learn a great lesson. Every day is a precious day. Thank God for just one more day."

LaSharon is survived by her parents, Everett and Sharon Powell; her brother, Gabriel Powell; and her grandmother, Georgia Powell.