In 2017 my son was murdered and in the days and months that followed, I had to face the horror of losing my son and forgiving his killer. Gone in an Instant is that story and I believe it will give hope to anyone who needs to forgive that person in their life who’s impossible to forgive. You’ll also find the self-help you need and the grief steps after child loss.
Gone in an Instant: Losing My Son, Loving His Killer doesn’t just chronicle the agonizing events of my son’s death but follows my own journey to faith, forgiveness, love, and renewed hope. Ultimately, it’s about how I learned to live each day to honor my son’s memory and to serve God with the assurance that he will use my son’s death for good, because that is what our heavenly Father does. Going through all my videos pushed me close to giving up on life. But I knew God had called me to do this and that this was for his glory.
God has given me the message to tell each and every person I come across that he loves them. I can only pray my story will touch many lives and help others who have been in similar situations. I write and speak so that every reader may know God’s immeasurable love and that forgiveness is the essence of God’s love. I can’t wait for the day I meet God face-to-face and am reunited with my son and other loved ones in heaven. My heart breaks for anyone who has experienced the pain I’ve felt. But, there is hope. Come alongside me and learn from me. You are loved, and you have a purpose.
In the courtroom, the judge read off the charges against Tyrone. Since he killed my son, the charges included criminal homicide and robbery. I was so emotional I couldn’t stop shaking. Just then, I noticed that no one was on the defense side of the courtroom. Not a single member of his family had shown up to support Tyrone.
With that sad realization, a love only God could give overwhelmed me for this total stranger, this young man who murdered my son in cold blood. It was so intense I felt my heart was going to burst. I wanted to sit on his side of the courtroom so that he wouldn’t be alone.
As the well-known theologian, pastor, and Christian author Charles Stanley once said:
“Every person is born with a deep desire to be loved unconditionally, but when this yearning is not fully met, many hurts and scars can result. What security and wholeness there is in knowing that we can call God “our Father” and receive that unconditional love!”
I live by Pastor Stanley’s words and that’s why I’m committed to loving the unlovable and forgiving as I have been forgiven.