This is going to be a very difficult month for the family and friends of Shelby Miller, for it will be one year since he was so tragically taken from us. The memories of that fateful night just seem to be lurking around the corner to torment and haunt us. It is causing us to remember with great pain and sorrow, finding him laying out under the brush last September after being murdered. However, we have chosen to remember him with dignity and honor. We are planning a Celebration of his life in the form of a picnic, to remember not the murder, but to honor the life of a great man. He has given so much to everyone that he has made contact with. He has taught us the necessity of loving in the true Christian sense. He did not just go to church and say this, he instead lived out what he believed and helped those around him as is expected of us in scripture. He has taught us all the importance of family and how to appreciate and value those who are kin. We learned to be just serious enough to take care of the business of daily living, but to also be silly enough to enjoy the lives we have been given. He created such joy and laughter wherever he went and his enthusiasm was contagious. People were motivated by his energy and love of life to be better people for knowing him.
I can say that it is hard to let go of the events surrounding his death , but I can hear him saying that you can’t live by holding onto hate and grief, and he is right. He would want us to remember with joy and laughter not with tears. The time for tears is gone, although we still shed them for him. So we will focus on the good memories, for that is a treasure that no one can take from us, it is something hidden in all of us. We all take a piece of who Shelby was and he is now and forever part of us. He will be remembered with good thoughts and the memories of who he was, and who we are for knowing him, will guide us through.
The Celebration will be Sunday, September 26, from 2-5 at the Beaver Creek State Park Picnic Pavilion. I know this is short notice, and many will not be able to be there in person, but we know you will be there in Spirit. We will eat, reminisce, and enjoy fond memories of our loved one.