SYM Memorial and Reflection

I walked into the drop-in space that was serving as the location for "G's" memorial.  The room was warmly lit with candlelight and gathered around a long table were SYM staff, volunteers and many of G's friends from among our SYM youth. There were tear-streaked cheeks around the table from those tears that come when a life is lost way too soon. Folks shared loving memories of G and then G's cousin, S, really took us all to church. He gave a eulogy that was filled with so many warm remembrances of G that it chased any possible chill right out of the room. He then turned his attention to our remarkable SYM staff members who had made such a profound impact in G's life. He called out Antonio, Rita, and Alyssa (among others) as people who had welcomed G and provided SYM's many different services: warm meals to eat, access to showers and laundry, case management, etc.  But what truly made the biggest difference in G's life, stated with conviction by his cousin, was the consistent, loving friendships he found with these same service providers. One of the best examples of this was Antonio reaching out to G to go work out at the fitness club.  Antonio and G had been able to work out together on many occasions and S couldn't say enough about what that intentional care had meant to his cousin. As S shared about Antonio's friendship with G, I was simply grateful. I was grateful that while G was experiencing so much pain in his life, he knew the love of his cousin, certainly, but he also knew the love of God as experienced through Antonio and so many others at SYM. It doesn't bring G back to us, but it helps me to know that he was far from alone in this world.

- Bill Hutchinson, SYM Volunteer