We decided to drive into town for an ice cream yesterday evening. On the way home we took the gravel road instead of the highway.
In the distance we could see a car parked at the side of the road. We wondered if they were having car problems. As we got closer, we could see women and children gathered around the front of the car, but the hood wasn’t raised.
As we slowly drew abreast of the car, we could see a cross and flowers at the side of the road nestled in the greenery. The group was silent as they looked at their handiwork. It dawned on us, that this must be the spot where someone had been murdered.
How often do we forget that when someone is murdered, there are other victims as well? The victims are members of families, often fathers and mothers. Those they leave behind will grieve those that they loved.
I have heard judgmental comments regarding the victim in the past few days and driving down that country road, I am reminded of how we are all bound together in our humanity.
We all have kinship to someone. A parent, spouse, child, extended family. They will grieve the loss of a loved one, don’t make them also defend their grief by making unkind comments.
It seems as though the pandemic has given people permission to be unkind by the remarks that get made flippantly about serious things. Always choose kindness.
Taking a drive down a gravel road by chance, was a reminder of our shared humanity. Say a prayer for the family Cody Schmidt as they mourn his loss. Seeing them standing by the side of a gravel road on a quiet summer’s evening tugged at my heart. The cross and flowers were a reminder of a life lost as well as the impact of that loss on those who cared for him and placed this memorial cross in his name.
There is good in all of us. People who love us recognize and value the good that lies within each of us. Sometimes, evil touches an individual and family and takes a life. That life is still important to those who loved them.
It is not a time for judgment. It is a time for prayer, reflection, and a reminder that in other circumstances we may find ourselves along a country road, standing vigil over a wooden cross with flowers nestled in the greens along the fence line. There but for the grace of God, I could be standing.
So hold onto your loved ones more tightly today. Choose your words in kindness and love. Say a prayer asking for peace of heart and mind while asking God’s blessing of protection for those you hold close to your heart.
God bless your journey and that of Cody Schmidt’s family.
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