Shane, my tender mercy

I don't really know why I have been thinking of him so much lately. I would like to think that maybe it is because he has been thinking about me a lot lately. I have been having a rough time and if Shane were still alive he would give me a snickers bar and pat me on the top of my head and tell me it was going to be okay. I know that if Shane were here he would listen to me, really listen. Then he would focus, not on fixing the problem, but on making the problem hurt less.

Shane is from the great state of Idaho in which I now reside. In fact he is from Shelly which is really just the next town over. A couple of sundays ago me and my sister went to a local choir concert. I typically don't like choir music but I went to support a good friend. The concert focused on tender mercies and they would have a narrator read a story from someone in the choir about a tender mercy they had experienced then they would sing a song. Some were good and some were really cheesy so mid concert found my sister and I in the back row goofing off and laughing about a suspicious smell.

Then the narrator began a story about a man who lost his boy, Shane. I was instantly at attention as the narrator read the account Shane's father had written about his son's last few days on earth. I literally felt like Shane was there not only watching his dad;s performance but letting me know he loved me too. As the choir began to sing Amazing Grace I knew that Shane may be separated from him body for a little while but he was still the friend I needed. I know Shane. I know that there is no way that a friend of his could be hurting without him doing EVERYTHING in his power to make it all better. My tender mercy was Heavenly Father letting me know that and reminding me of the amazing friends he has given me over the years. I know that to have a friend like Shane was nothing less than a gift from a loving Heavenly Father.

I ran straight up to the stage afterwards and asked for the man who had written that story. I am sure I was barely audible when I hugged his dad and told him thanks for raising Shane to be the man that he his.