Stephen C. McKinney Memorial Thread (1969-2001)

[theirreverentrev]

I hoped that things would be different with Tracie...that someone so full of faith in everlasting life would be honored by celebration of her transition instead of thinking of her as being DEAD.

1 John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Why all the sadness? There should be no grief with belief in eternal life...it should be a reassuring comfort during times like these and an opportunity to witness to others what the power of salvation has; eliminating grief. I'm sure she would be a little peeved at any of us feeling sadness because of her transition into light...she would want us to feel nothing but good things...of her joining Steven and the others who have gone before and for her as she awaits others who have yet to join her.

It's time to change the old paradigm of, "they passed, we MUST go through a grieving period, etc, etc, etc" into a new one of celebration, joy, and anticipation.

What good is it to profess a belief in eternal life one minute and then proclaim a person which believe in it...dead.

To me, she has made a transition...she isn't dead...she just isn't going to be POSTING. I'm not a bit sad...I'm actually a bit jealous...she has gone on a journey which none of us really knows for sure what it is like...what the feelings are...what you see...WHO you see...sure there are those with NDE's which report experiences but we never know for sure unless we make that transition.

I'm toasting to Tracie...and her family and friends that they may find the joy and abandon the sadness. It dishonors her, her memory, and her faith. Use this time as a way to share Tracies faith in eternal life through Jesus Christ instead of thinking of her as gone. When someone asks how you are dealing with it, tell them that Tracie was a believer in Jesus Christ and everlasting life...that she is alive in heaven...why should you grieve about THAT???!!!

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

[Avatar]

Why all the sadness? There should be no grief with belief in eternal life...

Well, not all of us believe in it.

But as I said elsewhere, my sadness isn't for Furls. Whether or not there is eternal life, she's fine now. Her life was fuller than many, and she did a lot more good than most. It is indeed a thing to be celebrated.

I'm sad for us, who are poorer now in her absence. And for her family who feel that absence most keenly.

These posts are a chance to cherish her memory, and to affirm that it will always be cherished. They are a tribute to her, nothing less.

--A

[Durris]

With all due respect, Irreverent Rev, Jesus did not express only joy and anticipation at the tomb of his good friend Lazarus.

Yes, He called Lazarus back to life. But He wept first. Because He disbelieved? Never that. Because He loved, and therefore felt absence.

That, IMHO, gives us permission to grieve as well as to affirm faith and hope. Regarding those we love but see no longer, their absence--from OUR side of the veil--is real even as larger life is affirmed.

Don't you suppose a Giants' wake had both? First the caamora, then hearthside revelry with rivers of diamondraught and long stories.

[Worm of Despite]

Christ and everlasting life...that she is alive in heaven...why should you grieve about THAT???!!!

I'm sad Furls couldn't live to be old with her husband and see her children grow up. She did so much and deserved so much more, but life--the world's terms--don't listen to "deserve" or know what it is. I have my own opinions of this world, and I won't go into a debate. I only know, for her family's sake, she's better off now. And we'll recover, but grief is only natural for someone so great--so loving and Christian. Her presence is missed--that's all. And any human being who's not doped to the gills is in grief that they can't be with her right now, in some form.

[Fire Daughter]

We do not grieve for her, we know where she is. We know how glorious she is now. We grieve for us. I grieve for me. My mother will be absent in body at my college graduation, at my wedding, at the birth of my children. She and my father will not grow old together. My brothers and sisters will not have her there for their accomplishments, their weddings, the births of their children. We grieve for us.

This is what it means
to be held
how it feels
when the sacred is torn from your life
and you survive
This is what it means
to be loved
and to know
that the promise was
when everything fell
we'd be held...

We seek no permission, we seek no affirmation, we seek nothing. We grieve for us. And we know Mom understands why.

[Savor Dam]

Well said, Brooke.

We love you, all of your family, and grieve with you.

[Menolly]

I know not how anyone else feels regarding this,
but i think maybe, Tracie's Glorious Passing thread should be locked, with her letter to us all being the last post.

We could continue to comment on it here.
Just my feeling.
Feel free to disregard...

[Fist and Faith]

That's a great idea.

[SoulBiter]

Very fitting indeed! I have been blessed to have been in such company as Furls, her family and those here at the 'Watch'!

[aliantha]

And this way, she definitely gets the last word.

[Fist and Faith]

Don't remind me...

[Menolly]

That seriously was a touché moment on her part.
Aw, Furls.
I miss you.

[StevieG]

I think it's a great idea too!

and well said Brooke.

[matrixman]

I just read Tracie's letter.

Furls, you said you don't wish for us to remember you with tears, but I want to quote what Gandalf said at the end of LOTR, as he bid farewell to Merry, Pippin and Sam:

"Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

Hail, Furls Fire, with all my heart!

[wboykin]

grieving is part of the healing process that we as humans must go through. tears have actually been scientifically proven to beneficial!

[wayfriend]

I know not how to say Farewell,
      When Farewell is the word
That stays alone for me to say
      Or will be heard.
But I cannot speak out that word
Or ever let my loved one go:
How can I bear it that these rooms
      Are empty so?

[Earthblood]

I totally agree with MM - what a great quote from LOTR...

and I agree with locking Tracie's thread - what more we have to say can be said here or elsewhere

Earthy

[Seareach]

I totally agree with MM - what a great quote from LOTR...

I, too, agree.

[Xar]

I agree too... and not just that. I didn't know Tracie very well, and we only spoke a handful of times in the last months of 2009 - so I know her mostly through her posts in the Watch, especially the ones in this thread.

But even so I saw she was unique, and had a spirit the likes of which I have rarely, if ever encountered before. Truthfully, even knowing her a little has touched me immensely... So my grief is also for me, since I will not have the chance to get to know her better, as many others did.

[Harley Guy]

Brooke is truly her mother's daughter. I had typed out a whole tirade against the post at the top of this page, but she helped me understand that it would only blot out all the beautiful posts that are here.

Thank you all. Tracie makes her presence known to us in many special ways. The letters were gifts and will be treasured along with everything else she was and is. God bless.