Candlelight Vigils....

The day Ryan died, Piner High School held a candlelight vigil in the parking lot.  There must have been 200 kids there with candles.  They shared stories, memories, nicknames given to them by Ryan, and above all, they shared about Ryan's heart.  I heard stories of Ryan reaching out to kids hurting, kids who were new to the school, and kids he had never met before.  These kids talked about my boy for 90 minutes!  In the crowd were people from all walks of life.  Ryan did not care about grades, the crowd someone hung out in, race, or gender.  He saw into each person's heart and was friends with everyone.  All you had to do was look into the crowd of people and you instantly knew what kind of heart Ryan had.  The same thing held true Friday night, when they had a candlelight vigil for Ryan at Middletown High School.  About 100 kids, again very diverse in population.  He loved WITHOUT passing judgement on others....I know so many adults who could learn an important lesson from Ryan!   Ryan loved others the way we are told to love....the way we are called to love.   A 16 year old who walked around telling everyone "One Love."  He believed in God, in peace, in brotherhood, in union, in love, and in each person's heart.  I knew my baby had a good and loving heart, I just didn't know he was touching so many with his love.