Sometimes you meet the nicest people through the worst imaginable circumstances. This is the case with Don & Donna Shawnee's parents. Shawnee was killed at McDonald's on 7/18/2007. They live so far away, but we keep them close at heart. Read Donna's beautiful words...
"I've Watched From Above, The Tears and Heartache So Many Hearts to Heal; That Won't Begin to Happen, Until the Truth is Revealed."
Somethings I'd like to say but first of all to let you know that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from Heaven where I dwell with Our Lord above. where there's no more tears or sadness just eternal Love. Please don't be unhappy because I'm out of sight, remember that I'm with you every Morning, Noon and Night.
The Day I had to leave you when my Life on earth was through, God picked me up and hugged me and He said I welcome you. It's good to have you back again, You were missed while you were gone. As for your Dearest Family they'll be here later on. I need you here so badly as part of my big plan. Theres so much we have to do to help our Moral Man. Then God gave me a list of things that He wished for me to do, and foremost on that list of mine is to watch and care for you. I'll be beside you everyday and through out the years, And when your sad. I'm standing there to wipe away your tears. When You lie in bed at night the day's chores put to flight, God and I are close to you in the middle of the night. When you think of my life on Earth and all the loving years, because your only human they are bound to bring you tears.
Please don't be afraid to cry, it does releive the pain.
I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned, But if I were to tell you, You wouldn't understand. One thing is for certain, though my life on Earth is over, I'm closer to you now than I ever was before.
To My many Friends, Trust God knows what is best. I'm still not far away from you I'm just beyond the crest.
So, If you can help somebody who is in sorrow or in pain, then you can say to God at night my day was not in vain. And now I am contented that with my life it was worth while, Knowing as I passed along the way I made somebody smile. If you meet somebody who is down and feeling low just lend a hand and pick him up as on your way you go. When Your walking down the street and you've got me on your mind just know Im walking in your footstep only a half a step behind. And if you feel a gentel breeze or wind upon your face thats me just giving you a great big hug or just a soft embrace. I will always love you from the land way up above We'll be in touch again soon. P.S. God sends his Love.
What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more touch, we may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget.
The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
1.You have the right to experience your own unique grief.
2. You have the right to talk about your grief.
3.You have the right to feel a multitude of emotions.
4.You have the right to be tolerant of your physical and emotional limits.
5You have the right to experience "griefbursts."
6You have the right to make use of ritual.
7.You have the right to embrace your spirituality.
8. You have the right to search for meaning.
9You have the right to treasure your memories.
10. You have the right to move toward your grief and heal.
To Those I Love and Those Who Loved Me
When I am gone, release me, let me go, I have so many things to see and do, You mustn’t tie yourself to me in tears, Be happy that we had so many years. I gave to you all my love, you can only guess, How much you gave to me in happiness, I thank you for the love you each have shown, But now its time I travelled on alone. So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must, Then let your grief be comforted by trust, It’s only for a while that we must part, So bless the memories within your heart. I won’t be far away, for life goes on, So if you need me, call, and I will come, Though you can’t see or touch me, I will be near; And if you listen with your heart, You will hear all my love around you, soft and clear. And then when you must come this way alone, I will greet you with a smile and a "Welcome Home"
A blessed person does not just grow, but is planted. We have to realize that God plants the feet of a blessed person. Never does a blessed person just pop or jump up like a weed. He is planted at a specific time, in a specific place to accomplish a divine purpose.
Those who persist in digging will find the greatest amount of water and their thirst will be quenched to the greatest degree. The gain will be worth the pain for I will use you to show others how to find this Living Water.
In a miracle God receives us into His arms in a state of total peace. This encourages us that when we face adversity, God is preparing us to receive some kind of miracle. We may not know where it is coming from or when it will take place, but we can be assured that He has a miracle waiting at the end of our trial. Author Unknown
These Shoes I Wear
I am wearing a pair of shoes. They are ugly shoes. Uncomfortable shoes. I hate my shoes. Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair. Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them. I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy. I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes. To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable. To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them. But, once you put them on, you can never take them off. I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes. There are many pairs in this world. Some people are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them. Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much. Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt. No person deserves to wear these shoes. Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger person. These shoes have given me the strength to face anything. They have made me who I am. I will forever walk in the shoes of a person who has lost a loved one to violence. Author unknown
This Dark Empire Can the truth ever be found? The voice of justice is a foreign sound. Stuck in this civilization of dirt, America, when will you lift up your skirt? Reveal yourself to me, Wanting sights of the unseen. Trying to escape, this ugly urbanization, Suburban sprawl, and Governmental unjustification. I am the black sheep, the runt of the litter, The mind of the masses is in the shitter. The intellectuals retreat underground, Like fugitives trying to go unfound. Since birth the brainwashing began, They have some motive, some hidden plan. I reach for it, but I lost it, My mind is now truly exhausted. Maybe someday the answer will come, But for now I am under their thumb.
To "let go" does not mean to stop caring. It means I can't do it for someone else.
To "let go" is not to cut myself off. It's the realization that I can't control another.
To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another. It's to make the most of myself.
To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.
To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.
To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.
In My Pocket
I have memories in my pocket. They rattle among the change.
My memories of you are treasures I carry wherever I go.
They are stored in bits and pieces, parts of a beautiful whole They give me comfort when I think I am alone.
Yes, I have memories in my pocket, like so much other stuff I keep there.
But of all the treasures I have, it’s the memories of you that are the most precious.
Blackness
A deep dark black veil has been placed over my eyes. I can no longer see the blue of the skies. My insides to shiver, they quiver and quake. One fourth of my heart, someone did take. One would think being lighter I could stand up straight. But my soul is so burdened, an onerous weight. The little girl I loved, full of cheer, play and song, has been ripped away by a terrible wrong. To never again touch her, to hear or to see, Oh Lord, what is your plan, why place this burden on me? A wife and a son and a daughter remain. I wish to reach out and hold them, but I can't through my pain.
A man is supposed to be hard, tough, emotionless and strong. Right now it feels so terribly wrong. My mind a black hole, my thoughts are but vapor. Oh Lord it is hard putting pen onto paper. The right words do not come for the emotions so strong. The night is so black, the pain is so long. A gunshot rang out in a place far away. Yet it traveled so far as to blacken my day. The black just gets deeper, it won't go away. Oh why, oh why was I not there that day. To shield her, protect her as best as I could. I'd have taken that bullet, gladly I would. Pain on the faces of mother, sister and brother, Make wish I were three people, no add another.
I feel so helpless, so lost and so small. I wonder if living means anything at all. You watch them grow up, you teach them and guide them. You nuture, protect them from pain, strife and hurt so nothing will get 'em.
You may not show the love that you feel. But it's there running deep, you know that it's real. Now it all seems so hopeless with the tears and the pain. Please Lord, remove this knife from my brain. Take this pain in my chest, which we call a heart. Take all the fragments, make it a whole part.
I must carry on, survive it's my fate. For my loving child, it is now too late. The terrible deed now has been done. But it's brought a family together as one. From deep dark despair and tears through the night, we must come through this, a terrible plight. I feel old, it is wrong and all seems perverted. I ask in my heart, could this have been averted? I stand here and cry, staring into black space. I wonder and wish I could be in her place.........
In loving memory of My Daughter Shawnee Marie (Stormer) Koch May she be with God and find peace with the angels November 4, 1966 ~ July 18, 2007
"Stop The Violence" Listen to Cassie As She Recites A Poem
Quotes"
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All of us at YOT wouldn't wish what happened to our loved ones, on anyone.. It is a living nightmare. Don't ever feel immune to violence, because it can happen to anyone, at anytime at anyplace.
