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.