Five Years...

It’s been five years today since Kim Hunter ended her life. It doesn’t seem possible for that much time to pass without hearing about her new success or her crazy adventures. I can remember each anniversary and there isn’t a day that passes that I don’t remember something about my sister.

I wish you could share in my shock over some of the crazy stuff that girl did as a teen. Even thou our mom would disagree, she was a total nightmare! As the years passed, she found her niche and her place in the world or at least from what everyone could tell. It was a combination of things that filled her life with passion and purpose. She loved getting outside and doing things. Which was anything from running, kayaking, the dreaded triathlons and over course making a difference in the lives of others.

 She’s missed by many and her personal impact is still seen in lives around us. Yet in all the wonderful things she did during her life, it was her death that had the greatest impact. I believe her story of life, of death and the struggles of those who loved her have touched many lives outside of their own, which in my view is simply beautiful. To not only inspire and touch others, but to do so in a way that will carry forward to even more people.

 We will all face grief and death. We will all face tragedies that will rock the foundations of our lives. It will be up to each of us to decide what to do with what has happened. We have a story to share, scars to show and lives to touch. We have an opportunity each day to change the world and we can do so one heart at a time.

 Semper Fi Chief Hunter

 Love, kindness and compassion

Darcie......

Arriving at my first regional event for TAPS as an employee I was asked if I would pick up Darcie Sims from the airport later that night.  I knew from past experiences with Darcie that it would be well worth losing sleep to pick her up, after all, who wouldn’t want a hour of free therapy from one of the top psychologists in the country.  So that’s where my journey really started with her and what a journey it would be.   

We all have stories that can be shared about Darcie and the impact she had on our lives.  Over the past week I’ve seen hundreds of pictures and read a multitude of words from people who have been touched in someway by this remarkable woman.  We learned that it’s ok to grieve in what ever way we believe we should.  She taught us that we only have a short time to appreciate this journey of life before it’s over.  There are so many things that can be written and so many lessons that have been learned from her teachings.  I’ve been reflecting on her most important lesson to me and maybe to the world as a whole. 

I don’t think Darcie started out her journey working in grief with the idea that she would change the world, nor do I think she believed her way was the only way.  As most can testify, she had the ability to bring things down to earth and make each person believe that they were the only one in the room.  I think that’s where her most important lesson lies, in that one person in the room, that single heart and in that single moment in time, the present with a single life in pain.  Her greatest lesson in my eyes was simple words to you and I, they are words we hear from our mom and at church, but they become much more once we apply those words to our lives and start living them.  Those words; Love, kindness and compassion.

Darcie showed that one person can make a difference in the world.  She showed that we can reach out and change things for the better by simply looking to a single person and a single heart.  She showed us the importance of Love and offered ways to help make love the “journey” and not just words that are reserved for those we find easy to be around or have something to offer, but for the world as a whole.  Love seems to be the theme of all she did and in my eyes will certainly be her legacy.  She has touched so many lives, God has truly worked through this woman.  This lesson of love will echo through generations, touching many lives to come.  What an amazing story, what an amazing legacy to have.

What’s also powerful is to see that she was only human, only a simple woman no different than anyone else.  She had fears, she hurt others, faced challenges and failed no different than anyone else in the world.  What really stood out was her willingness to reach out to others and try, to struggle toward something outside herself.  To be used by God to help change a single heart.  She had the courage and desire to simply love.

Do we have the same courage?  Can we continue Darcie’s legacy by showing love, by reaching out and by touching a single heart?  You see, this isn’t simply about us, it’s not about Darcie, it’s about something much greater.  We have the power to change the world, yes, as grand and big as it is, we have that power today.  We can make a difference, simply one heart at a time. 

 

My words fall short of what should be written about Darcie Sims and they certainly fall short of glorify our Maker.  These are simple words from a simple man, but it is truly my hope that we do struggle to make a difference.  That we wake tomorrow with a desire to help a single heart, a single person, to show love and to see the beauty in the world around us.  Love, kindness and compassion. 

Semper Fi Darcie Sims, We love you.

Birthday Love....

Four years ago today you woke to face the world, to battle all those same obstacles we all face and to make sense of life.  Four years ago today our mom called you to wish you a happy birthday and to tell you that she loves you.  Four years ago today you had friends that called you, texted you, emailed you to celebrate such an amazing woman.  Four years ago today would be the last two weeks of your life.

I didn’t call you this day four years ago, I didn’t write, I didn’t send a card, nor did I even remember that it was your birthday.  Had I’d known that you would not have another, I would have driven to where you were and with so many others, given you the best birthday ever!!  I would have showered you with love and affection that you deserved and made sure that you knew in every part of your being that you were loved by me.  I would have asked for forgiveness for the words and my actions that offended you, for being a pain in the butt brother, for being selfish and most of all for being prideful.  If I had only known...

Today I write to you, I’ll bake a cake and place a candle on it.  I’ll toast you and spend time with friends who will do the same.  Today I’ll think of the ways that you touched me, changed me and affected my path in this life.  Today I’ll tell someone about you and how you touched so many lives both in the Navy, at church and as a volunteer.  Today I will remember the fun times we shared, the sad times when we cried, the crazy times that don’t need to be mentioned….  

 Today I will tell others “I Love You” as often as possible and take every opportunity to hug someone.  Today I see how important life is, how short it is and how valuable each person is in our life.  Today my heart is open to others, to being hurt and to being loved.  Today, I will share your story with someone else as I continue to add value to your life and death.  Today I see that had I just shared with you my own struggles, you may not have died.  Today I will try and live this day and every day as if it were my most important day, to hold close those I love, to share with others, to try and make a difference in a single life, because….one of these days it will be MY last day and my last birthday.

February 23^rd is your birthday, like so many people I know who have had a loved one die, it is an important date in my life now.  Before your death it wasn’t, but it will forever be so now.  I wish I could fill you in on all the beauty I’ve seen in the past several months of my life, all the amazing things that I’ve experienced and all the wonderful people I have in my life.  Since your death my life has changed so much and I’ve come to spend my life in a way that helps others and in service to God.  I wish I could share with you these beautiful things I see all around me. 

Your life and your death have touched so many lives Kim.  There have been families mended, lives saved and value added to so many.  Not only do I morn your death today, but also celebrate your life.  I want others to see that there is beauty in not only your life, but also your death and I think many do.  So Kim, today I will live… Today I will give… Today I will sing… Today I will embrace life…  Today I will Love…

Happy Birthday Sister….     

My birthday song to you...

 http://youtu.be/tR-qQcNT_fY