God of all
gifts, we thank you for the many ways you have blessed us this day. As a God of
compassion, you know the holes that are left in our heart caused by the
senseless death of a loved one. While the world celebrates around us we long
for a Christmas past where we could have our loved one with us again. Only you
can understand the depths of our sadness, for you experienced the death of your
own Son on the Cross to save our souls. Lord, for all of us who suffer through
tragedy, we pray that you heal us of the loss of our loved one who departed,
and dry the tears of sorrow that weighs down our hearts.
May your hand
impart peace and healing to the downtrodden and bring justice to a land who
needs Your counsel and guidance. We ask for Your special dispensation for
families victimized by heinous crimes and for Your wisdom to reign in the
courtrooms- but most of all, we want in this season for Your will and way to
penetrate the hearts of the unbelieving who can never have the inner peace they
long for until You enter their hearts.
From the Unit
1012 to your family, may God bless and protect this Christmas season and open
up more doors for legal and social justice to prevail. Amen
 |
|
Sam Roberts and Tiffany Peacock, who were
shot during a home invasion in 2005.
|
Families find comfort at Tree of Angels
ceremony
By Kali Venable | kvenable@vicad.com Dec 7, 2018
Linda Coker is a member of a group no
one wants to be in.
Her son, Sam Roberts, was shot and killed with his fiancé and roommate during a home invasion when he was 24 years old in Edna.
Roberts was among more than 190 victims honored at the Bauer Community Center ceremony, held in memory of deceased victims of violent crimes.
Thursday evening, Coker, 59, heard his name called at the 16th annual Tree of Angels ceremony in Port Lavaca and shared a moment of relief with hundreds of others.
“It’s comforting because your biggest fear is people will forget when you lose a child,” Coker said. “Just to have them acknowledge their name and to have their picture sitting up and to light a candle...it means a lot.”
The ceremony was dedicated by Wendi Duvall, a liaison for the Victoria Police Department, who lost her dear friend Kristi Chavez to a violent crime in 2010. Family and friends brought pictures of their loved ones to display, lit candles and hung angel ornaments in their memory.
Kayla Adams, 24, said the pictures are difficult to see, particularly because there are so many.
“It’s heartbreaking because you know that someone out there lost them,” Adams said. “Someone out there didn’t get to see what their lives would become – who they would become.”
Adams knows the feeling of not knowing what could have been all too well. When she was just 15 months old, her mother was strangled to death by a friend she went out with one evening. On Adams’ second birthday, after months of searching for her mother, the friend confessed to the murder and showed a police officer where he hid her remains.
“I just want to make sure that no one forgets her because we continue to live out our lives and she doesn’t get to,” Adams said.
Adams said she has annually honored her mother at the ceremony since Mary Sue Woods, the founder and organizer of the event, started it 16 years ago.
“I’ve come to this event as a child, a teenager, an adult and now a mother,” Adams said. “It is amazing to know that I am not the only person. With victims of violent crimes, everybody has something to mourn and wants to share their story.”
Like many left behind, Coker and Adams said they find comfort in a community of people who can relate to their suffering and loss.
Through the Tree of Angels ceremony, Coker said she has found friendship in Woods, whose work greatly impacts her life.
“What Mary Sue does is phenomenal because she spends so much time putting it together,” Coker said. “Everything she does takes a lot of time and help, (and she does it) just so our loved ones can be remembered.”
Coker also feels an immense and unique
appreciation for the law enforcement and first responders who make an effort to
attend the ceremony every year. She and her husband have grown particularly
close with Clinton Wooldridge, Edna Police Department’s chief of police, who
visits with them at their home in Edna.
“You never think those people are going to become your friends, but they have been a part of your life through the tragedy,” Coker said. “To have them there is comforting.”
https://
OTHER LINKS:
2019 ALBUM: https://www.facebook.com/pg/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1858132690975355
No comments:
Post a Comment