![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ithaca.edu\/depts\/g\/Relay_For_Life_Luminaries\/20599_full.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some of our ideas come from the heart, but come to our minds in all kinds of places.\u00a0 So it was with the \u201cLet their little lights shine\u201d luminary service that we have each year.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t familiar with the luminaries or the remembrance, then you have missed my most favorite part of the evening.\u00a0 My heart soars\u00a0when the luminaries are lit.\u00a0 The bags are in remembrance of any child who has died.\u00a0 Each name is said aloud followed by a family member or volunteer placing the bags in the designated area for the evening.<\/p>\n
Last year the bags twinkled throughout the outdoor movie.\u00a0 When I look out\u00a0at a\u00a0field of faces at the movie, I am always moved by the faces that are not there, because I know what the bags mean.\u00a0 Each flicker is a loved one that isn\u2019t here with us enjoying this time.\u00a0 Our family alone has four of those bags \u2013 one for each of our children (Reed and our 3 babies) in heaven.\u00a0 But also represented by those bags are friends and friends\u2019 children.\u00a0 Some of those\u00a0are for\u00a0children that I deeply miss having at our\u00a0 lives.<\/p>\n
So it was in the summer of 2009 (a few\u00a0months before the first Reed’s Run)\u00a0when Erin and I were running in the hospital\u2019s 5k race.\u00a0 At some point I connected with a mom of young lady who had passed away about 7 months before Reed.\u00a0 That young lady was Erin\u2019s swim coach who made her feel like she was the most important swimmer in the world.\u00a0 She encouraged her, challenged her, and supported her.\u00a0 \u00a0Erin was only seven years old when she died, and she still has her pictures in her room\/\u00a0\u00a0She still dedicates swims for her each year.\u00a0 She brought so much light to my little girl’s world.<\/p>\n
During the race, the mom and I chatted only briefly.\u00a0All I could\u00a0think about was how her daughter’s light was extinguished much too early.\u00a0It hit me that while Reed\u2019s name might be on the event, I wanted it to be a place where all children could be remembered.\u00a0 I wanted to remember her daughter who meant so much to mine. I know how much candlelight services mean to our family, and that was the idea that popped into my head as I jogged along.\u00a0 As the concept mulled over in my head, I was\u00a0committed to having\u00a0each name read aloud.\u00a0 Mostly I felt so passionately because after losing a child, one of the greatest fears is no one saying their name again.\u00a0 I ran across a poem last year that succinctly said what my heart feels regarding Reed.<\/p>\n
The mention of my child’s name may bring tears to my eyes,
\nBut it never fails to bring music to my ears.
\nIf you are really my friend,
\nlet me hear the music of her name!
\nIt soothes my broken heart and sings to my soul!
\n~Author Unknown ~<\/p>\n
It also explains why the luminaries are my favorite part of the night.\u00a0 I get to sing to someone else\u2019s soul, and by doing so, it helps my own heal.\u00a0 In that healing,\u00a0I carry a little piece of each of their lights with me.\u00a0With that remembrance, they are never\u00a0truly forgotten.<\/p>\n
Special note: We always have extra bags, candles, and room to add another child to our list.\u00a0 If you would like a child added to our list, please contact us or come to Reed\u2019s Run where we can provide one for you.\u00a0 If you would like a child remembered but are unable to attend, simply forward the information to www.reedsrun.com<\/a> and we will make a luminary for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some of our ideas come from the heart, but come to our minds in all kinds of places.\u00a0 So it was with the \u201cLet their little lights shine\u201d luminary service that we have each year.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t familiar with the luminaries or the remembrance, then you have missed my most favorite part of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[150,274,383,400,526,531],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}