The Days Before Peyton’s Home Going Service – Part II

The day after Peyton’s accident was on a Sunday, there were a couple of rows of teenagers at our church that regularly attended other churches or didn’t have a church home. (I wish I had been there to see that!) We had a special speaker that day. She had lost a friend in her pre-teen years. She was able to speak words of comfort to those kids that another person couldn’t. God is sooooo good.

The next day, the kids gathered at Burke’s house. Several coaches were there too. Burke’s aunt took pictures and I am so glad she did.

My heart hurt so much for these kids. I didn’t want them to be in this kind of pain. They were there for each other. I am so proud of them.

I had to call one of the owner’s of the business where Peyton’s worked, to tell him the news. I didn’t want him to hear it from anyone else. The anguish in his voice……… I’ll never forget it. Peyton had only worked there 4 days, but they had known him for most of his life. I had worked for these same people and they got to know Peyton very well. I wrote about one of them in this story.

I don’t remember the order these things occurred, I just know they happened. I want to put exclamation marks after every line; I won’t, but read it like I did.

Food, food and more food was brought to our home.

People even thought to bring aluminum foil, toilet paper, chip clips, coffee, Ziploc bags, press-n-seal wrap (I’d never used that before, now it is a staple in my pantry), bottled water, soda, the list goes on and on.

Our postman left 2 books of stamps in our mailbox

Two of our friends washed our vehicles inside and out and filled them with gas.

There were teenagers at our house every night (sometimes during the day too) talking and telling stories about Peyton. We laughed a lot. I got notes from girls (I wish boys did things like this, but the ones I know, don’t) telling me how Peyton had made an impact on their lives. I had one girl take me aside and tell me how knowing him had changed her. I couldn’t believe this. She spoke so eloquently and from the heart. I couldn’t help but wonder, “how old is this child?” even though I knew she was only 15. She is still blessing us today.

Two news stations came and interviewed Tom & I. The first was a woman, very professional. The second was a man. He had to run his own camera. I’ll never forget the tears he shed as we were telling our story. He even signed the visitor book.

I like getting these facts written down. I like being able to remember the people behind these acts of kindness. It’s love in action and that is how life is supposed to be.

Thanks for reading and your patience. I’ve said it before, I don’t care for long posts, so that’s it for now.