Most people may miss it, others may simply choose not to see it. Some may want it removed already, while the rest just remain indifferent to it all.
I can assure you that there is one person that sees this roadside memorial each time she passes here though – this young man’s mother.
I can remember the day like it was last weekend because the traffic on Mastic Road wouldn’t move at all. Strangely enough, my wife and I were on our way to volunteer at a youth group that evening when this entire neighborhood became a literal parking lot. There is often traffic on this specific road at this specific hour, but not anything like that day. People were putting their cars in park and walking up to the scene to find out what had happened. There were people, sirens, and screams coming from every direction.
On that early spring evening, there were apparently two groups of young men, one on foot and the others in a car passing by. Words were exchanged, one teenager exited the car and was fatally stabbed by another. He fell to the ground in this very same spot and never got up, another young life lost while he hadn’t even really started to live it yet. He was 17 and the other who stabbed him was 19.
In that same place that he laid now stands a cross, a few old candles, deflated balloons, and a Lynvets youth football helmet worn by this athletic young man. A few feet away to the left stands a sweatshirt which appears to be blood stained along with a hat. I can only guess that this was the clothing he was wearing that day. A tangible and raw reminder that a young person with his whole future ahead of him lost his life right at this spot.
His mother used to be seen here often decorating her son’s memorial for the changing seasons and holidays. I’ve seen birthday balloons, Christmas ornaments, Valentine’s Day hearts, and many tears decorate this spot. Over the years, I’ve seen her standing here less and less often. I have no idea why, but having a mother myself who lost a son tragically at a very young age, I can tell you that grief is different for everyone and some things that brought comfort early on now bring heartbreak. Every time I think of his mom, I find myself being inwardly prompted to pray for her.
But a negative can become a positive, especially in God’s kingdom and in His ways which are certainly different from ours. I pass this roadside memorial on my way to attend a graduation, a home visit to check up on a young person, or to sit in the stands and cheer on a local athlete. Every church outreach event, prayer meeting, box of diapers being dropped off, or times that my wife and I take out a family of children to a local establishment to eat together. This roadside reminder will catch my eye, and my heart too, helping to remind me why we are doing this.
Young people need real love, not only to hear the phrase. They long for time, attention, and care more than anything else in the world. They need guidance; they need to know that someone is rooting for them even when they mess up and feel ashamed of themselves. They need someone that doesn’t just offer thoughts and prayers, but someone that purposely gets up earlier than usual to spend time praying for them. They need someone that shows up time and time again, especially when it’s inconvenient to do so.
While my community tragically lost a promising young man and young life that day, we can here, now, and today be the change we’d like to see in our community and ultimately our world. These little reminders along the way can motivate us to not wait for other people to do the work that each one of us were called to do.
I’ve learned along the journey that some important person in some grandeur office somewhere isn’t coming to make every day changes in my community.
God has called me to do that.
I believe He’s calling you to do the same.
