Our Nate had so many friends and knew so many people it was just how he was to not know a stranger.
We still are meeting people that knew our son, it always brings a smile to us to listen to them talk about Nate it's like he is still here.
Monday, October 5, 2009
His Journey's Just Begun
By Ellen Brenneman
Don't think of him as gone away--
his journey's just begun
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.
Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched...
for nothing loved is ever lost--
and he was loved so much.
Don't think of him as gone away--
his journey's just begun
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.
Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched...
for nothing loved is ever lost--
and he was loved so much.
News Article:
News Article On Nates Accident
Durango man on a hike falls from cliff, dies Body found in Cascade Creek
June 25, 2006By Alex Ritzenberg | Herald Staff Writer
A 21-year-old Durango man died Saturday afternoon after falling about 100 feet from a cliff above Cascade Creek.
John Jacobs, San Juan County coroner "That trail is close to the edge in some places"
The man, Nathan McCuiston, was hiking on a trail near Lime Creek Road when he slipped and fell around 12:40 p.m., said San Juan County Undersheriff Mike McQueen.
Evidence indicates that McCuiston slid down a 50-foot bank before free-falling an additional 50 feet, McQueen said.
McCuiston was hiking with three friends, all of whom were spread out along the trail. When the hikers - in their late teens or early 20s - couldn't find McCuiston, they searched around Cascade Falls, said San Juan County Coroner John Jacobs.
A friend spotted the body in the ravine and contacted San Juan County dispatch, McQueen said.
"It looks like he slipped on the trail and tripped over a rock or a root. That trail is close to the edge in some places," Jacobs said. "It looks like a pure accident."
Assisting the San Juan County Sheriff's Department was San Juan County Search and Rescue, the San Juan County coroner, La Plata County Search and Rescue and the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
Members of La Plata County Search and Rescue were already doing practice exercises in the Cascade Creek canyon when they received a call for assistance, said Butch Knowlton, La Plata County's director of emergency preparedness. The eight- to 10-person crew assisted the Durango fire authority in the recovery of the body from the creek, Knowlton said.
McCuiston could have died from either shock or impact, Jacobs said. An autopsy was planned.
Jacobs said he probably gets reports of someone being injured from a minor fall along the Cascade Creek path once or twice a year.
Durango man on a hike falls from cliff, dies Body found in Cascade Creek
June 25, 2006By Alex Ritzenberg | Herald Staff Writer
A 21-year-old Durango man died Saturday afternoon after falling about 100 feet from a cliff above Cascade Creek.
John Jacobs, San Juan County coroner "That trail is close to the edge in some places"
The man, Nathan McCuiston, was hiking on a trail near Lime Creek Road when he slipped and fell around 12:40 p.m., said San Juan County Undersheriff Mike McQueen.
Evidence indicates that McCuiston slid down a 50-foot bank before free-falling an additional 50 feet, McQueen said.
McCuiston was hiking with three friends, all of whom were spread out along the trail. When the hikers - in their late teens or early 20s - couldn't find McCuiston, they searched around Cascade Falls, said San Juan County Coroner John Jacobs.
A friend spotted the body in the ravine and contacted San Juan County dispatch, McQueen said.
"It looks like he slipped on the trail and tripped over a rock or a root. That trail is close to the edge in some places," Jacobs said. "It looks like a pure accident."
Assisting the San Juan County Sheriff's Department was San Juan County Search and Rescue, the San Juan County coroner, La Plata County Search and Rescue and the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
Members of La Plata County Search and Rescue were already doing practice exercises in the Cascade Creek canyon when they received a call for assistance, said Butch Knowlton, La Plata County's director of emergency preparedness. The eight- to 10-person crew assisted the Durango fire authority in the recovery of the body from the creek, Knowlton said.
McCuiston could have died from either shock or impact, Jacobs said. An autopsy was planned.
Jacobs said he probably gets reports of someone being injured from a minor fall along the Cascade Creek path once or twice a year.
The day that changed our lives forever
The news about Nate... June 24th 2006
The following entry is prior and about the day of the accident and how we received the news about Nate.
I want to share with all of you what events were taking place two days before the day of the accident. It was on a Thursday when Nate told his dad and I about a dream he had, he was very insiting that we both hear this dream. He was very serious when telling us and very detailed. He said that he had a dream that he was falling but as he got closer to the ground he discovered he had wings. He started telling us more and stood up to demonstrate with his arms as wings to explain, and we could see how real it was to him.
He said that he could feel the pressure of the air under his wings lift him up from the ground and lift him up, he described the colors, clouds and everything that was around him.
Don and I just sat both puzzled about this dream but Nate had this incredible smile and so much emotion the entire time he was telling us about his dream. We said how that was a pretty amazing dream. He said it was so real he was flying with the birds and angels, and never touched the ground.
The way he described it you could tell how peaceful it was by his words and actions he used to describe the dream. Nate was not afraid of this dream....
The next evening he had plans to go out with his friends so before we went out to dinner the last time I saw Nate he was in his room getting ready to go.
When I got up the next morning I noticed he had not come home which I knew they must have went camping and stayed the night.
As I got around I was not feeling well, just a sick feeling in my stomach I didn't pay much attention to it and tried to go about the morning.
About 3 hours later Don came home from working for his lunch break when he got called to the P.D. he called them to see what was wrong but they wouldn't tell him on the phone.
We just figured it was work related and nothing else was ever thought about it.
I left the house do run some errands and before I got a mile from the house I see a cop car coming towards our place. Don called me on the cell to get me back home and when I drove up he was not in uniform.
When I got in the house he had the phone in his hands and sat me down on the couch and started to tell me that he was told that a boy had fallen while climbing and they think its Nate. I started to cry and my mind wouldn't grasp it at all, no this couldn't be true I didn't believe it and started to go to the door, the pain hit me like a rock and I fell to my knees and cried it had to be a mistake this couldn't be happening overwhelming pain was too much to bare I had to go and see for myself.
Nate had lost his wallet a couple months prior and we thought maybe they guy still had it on him. We thought of every possibility that we could it just couldn't be Nate he was afraid of heights.
When we finally arrived 29 miles later we pulled off the highway onto a clearing I sat in the truck while Don went to speak with the rescue team and Deputy Sheriff. As I looked down to where they were parked Don looked back at the truck I knew right away that it was Nate. My heart sank and all the rational thoughts left me I thought how could he be gone and why? I can't be without him he is my entire world.
Everything started going so fast and I was so numb at that time I looked at the cars driving by and thought all I have to do is step out and I can be with Nate.
I must have had the blank stare because soon after that thought before I could even come to my senses Don and the Deputy had walked to my side of the truck and opened the door.
In his hands he had Nate's wallet, he never went anywhere without it and it had a chain that kept it on him so he wouldn't loose it.
At that moment I had to face again that it was true and Nate was not coming home.
The Deputy told me that he wasn't climbing that he had been following his friends on a very dangerous narrow trail and had fallen.
I was spared the details of the fall until I read the news paper the next day. I still haven't been out to where it happened and I won't be going, its too hard.
In preparing for the services Don and I wanted to share Nate's life so we put together a flash program that had pictures of Nate from the time he was a baby till current. It took us from Sunday-Wednesday most nights until 3am. It helped so much to do this we had time to try to heal and time to prepare for the day of the services.
A lot of his friends that had been with him camping and that morning were there and stood up to say something about Nate. It was all really beautiful and we couldn't have done it any better.
After the services we all drove to the Lake that Nate loved to fish at with his friends and said our goodbye for now.
Watching his friends walk by his picture and roses that I held during the services was very emotional. I didn't realize that he had touched so many lives so much but I really wouldn't have expected anything less of Nate that was just the kind of person he was.
We invited all his friends back to the house for lunch so that we could share more about Nate so that we could all share and be close.
They told me about that night and day of camping and how Nate was giving everyone hugs and telling them how blessed he was to have them as friends and they were so much a part of his life and how he loved them like family.
He told them how much he respected his parents and how much he loved them and how happy he was to have them.
When most everyone had went to sleep one of the girls told me that she could hear Nate screaming out about how beautiful it was where they were camping.
They said he was always very happy but that trip he was so happy and so loving and so expressive of his thoughts about everyone in his life.
One of the guys that had hiked down and found him asked if he could see Nate's room I honestly didn't know how I could go in there but some how I found the strength I didn't want to deny him being close to Nate. As I walked back and opened the door not just one but about 10 of his friends were behind me piling into Nate's little room.
It was so nice to see that they all wanted to be a part and share, it really helped me and brought such strength. I explained to them that I couldn't do this after the accident that it was too hard and I thanked them for giving me the strength.
We can't begin to imagine the pain they felt when they found him it's just too much to take in.
The pain of loosing a child is so unbearable it is the worst pain your heart will ever know. You cry tears that are bigger than you ever cried, the sound of your cries is the most haunting and your heart will literally hurt from the pain.
It changes every part of who you are and everything your life stands for.
In the 21 years of having Nate we were always together, he was and always will be my world.
It's been 2 yrs and 8 months since that day our lives changed forever and the pain of loosing him is still very much there. I'm always a heartbeat away from a deep sadness and longing for Nate when I see a mother and a son together, it brings back the happy times when Nate was with me.
We have had so many signs we feel God has used to open our heart and minds to so we can feel the grace and peace he wants for us until we are all together again.
The following entry is prior and about the day of the accident and how we received the news about Nate.
I want to share with all of you what events were taking place two days before the day of the accident. It was on a Thursday when Nate told his dad and I about a dream he had, he was very insiting that we both hear this dream. He was very serious when telling us and very detailed. He said that he had a dream that he was falling but as he got closer to the ground he discovered he had wings. He started telling us more and stood up to demonstrate with his arms as wings to explain, and we could see how real it was to him.
He said that he could feel the pressure of the air under his wings lift him up from the ground and lift him up, he described the colors, clouds and everything that was around him.
Don and I just sat both puzzled about this dream but Nate had this incredible smile and so much emotion the entire time he was telling us about his dream. We said how that was a pretty amazing dream. He said it was so real he was flying with the birds and angels, and never touched the ground.
The way he described it you could tell how peaceful it was by his words and actions he used to describe the dream. Nate was not afraid of this dream....
The next evening he had plans to go out with his friends so before we went out to dinner the last time I saw Nate he was in his room getting ready to go.
When I got up the next morning I noticed he had not come home which I knew they must have went camping and stayed the night.
As I got around I was not feeling well, just a sick feeling in my stomach I didn't pay much attention to it and tried to go about the morning.
About 3 hours later Don came home from working for his lunch break when he got called to the P.D. he called them to see what was wrong but they wouldn't tell him on the phone.
We just figured it was work related and nothing else was ever thought about it.
I left the house do run some errands and before I got a mile from the house I see a cop car coming towards our place. Don called me on the cell to get me back home and when I drove up he was not in uniform.
When I got in the house he had the phone in his hands and sat me down on the couch and started to tell me that he was told that a boy had fallen while climbing and they think its Nate. I started to cry and my mind wouldn't grasp it at all, no this couldn't be true I didn't believe it and started to go to the door, the pain hit me like a rock and I fell to my knees and cried it had to be a mistake this couldn't be happening overwhelming pain was too much to bare I had to go and see for myself.
Nate had lost his wallet a couple months prior and we thought maybe they guy still had it on him. We thought of every possibility that we could it just couldn't be Nate he was afraid of heights.
When we finally arrived 29 miles later we pulled off the highway onto a clearing I sat in the truck while Don went to speak with the rescue team and Deputy Sheriff. As I looked down to where they were parked Don looked back at the truck I knew right away that it was Nate. My heart sank and all the rational thoughts left me I thought how could he be gone and why? I can't be without him he is my entire world.
Everything started going so fast and I was so numb at that time I looked at the cars driving by and thought all I have to do is step out and I can be with Nate.
I must have had the blank stare because soon after that thought before I could even come to my senses Don and the Deputy had walked to my side of the truck and opened the door.
In his hands he had Nate's wallet, he never went anywhere without it and it had a chain that kept it on him so he wouldn't loose it.
At that moment I had to face again that it was true and Nate was not coming home.
The Deputy told me that he wasn't climbing that he had been following his friends on a very dangerous narrow trail and had fallen.
I was spared the details of the fall until I read the news paper the next day. I still haven't been out to where it happened and I won't be going, its too hard.
In preparing for the services Don and I wanted to share Nate's life so we put together a flash program that had pictures of Nate from the time he was a baby till current. It took us from Sunday-Wednesday most nights until 3am. It helped so much to do this we had time to try to heal and time to prepare for the day of the services.
A lot of his friends that had been with him camping and that morning were there and stood up to say something about Nate. It was all really beautiful and we couldn't have done it any better.
After the services we all drove to the Lake that Nate loved to fish at with his friends and said our goodbye for now.
Watching his friends walk by his picture and roses that I held during the services was very emotional. I didn't realize that he had touched so many lives so much but I really wouldn't have expected anything less of Nate that was just the kind of person he was.
We invited all his friends back to the house for lunch so that we could share more about Nate so that we could all share and be close.
They told me about that night and day of camping and how Nate was giving everyone hugs and telling them how blessed he was to have them as friends and they were so much a part of his life and how he loved them like family.
He told them how much he respected his parents and how much he loved them and how happy he was to have them.
When most everyone had went to sleep one of the girls told me that she could hear Nate screaming out about how beautiful it was where they were camping.
They said he was always very happy but that trip he was so happy and so loving and so expressive of his thoughts about everyone in his life.
One of the guys that had hiked down and found him asked if he could see Nate's room I honestly didn't know how I could go in there but some how I found the strength I didn't want to deny him being close to Nate. As I walked back and opened the door not just one but about 10 of his friends were behind me piling into Nate's little room.
It was so nice to see that they all wanted to be a part and share, it really helped me and brought such strength. I explained to them that I couldn't do this after the accident that it was too hard and I thanked them for giving me the strength.
We can't begin to imagine the pain they felt when they found him it's just too much to take in.
The pain of loosing a child is so unbearable it is the worst pain your heart will ever know. You cry tears that are bigger than you ever cried, the sound of your cries is the most haunting and your heart will literally hurt from the pain.
It changes every part of who you are and everything your life stands for.
In the 21 years of having Nate we were always together, he was and always will be my world.
It's been 2 yrs and 8 months since that day our lives changed forever and the pain of loosing him is still very much there. I'm always a heartbeat away from a deep sadness and longing for Nate when I see a mother and a son together, it brings back the happy times when Nate was with me.
We have had so many signs we feel God has used to open our heart and minds to so we can feel the grace and peace he wants for us until we are all together again.
Recovering from loss
Pour out your heart before Him.
Ps 62:8 NKJV
Here are five keys to recovering from loss: (1) Process your grief. Emotions like fear, anger, worry, depression, resentment, helplessness and grief are normal. It's no good to stuff them or deny they exist. God created us to feel; He doesn't expect us to act happy when we're grieving. 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted' (Mt 5:4 NIV). Be honest with God. 'Pour out your heart before Him,' and He will comfort you. (2) Accept help. It's a mistake to isolate yourself in the aftermath of a tragedy. We all need the encouragement and the support of others. We're called to carry one another's burdens (See Gal 6:2). (3) Choose the right response. When you choose bitterness, you hurt yourself and shut the door on happiness because you can't be happy and bitter at the same time. During some recent California wildfires there were victims who said, 'We've lost everything and we're sad, but we'll work together as a family and rebuild.' Others said, 'My life's over! I can't go on... I'll never recover.' You can choose to believe you're on your own, or that God's with you and bounce back. (4) Know your joy comes from God. There's no correlation between your circumstances and your joy. Joy comes from within; it's based on whom you trust, not what you see and feel. (5) Concentrate on what you've left, not on what you've lost. Make a list of the good things in your life, and thank God for what you still have. It's impossible to be grateful and hopeless at the same time.
Jentezen Franklin
Ps 62:8 NKJV
Here are five keys to recovering from loss: (1) Process your grief. Emotions like fear, anger, worry, depression, resentment, helplessness and grief are normal. It's no good to stuff them or deny they exist. God created us to feel; He doesn't expect us to act happy when we're grieving. 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted' (Mt 5:4 NIV). Be honest with God. 'Pour out your heart before Him,' and He will comfort you. (2) Accept help. It's a mistake to isolate yourself in the aftermath of a tragedy. We all need the encouragement and the support of others. We're called to carry one another's burdens (See Gal 6:2). (3) Choose the right response. When you choose bitterness, you hurt yourself and shut the door on happiness because you can't be happy and bitter at the same time. During some recent California wildfires there were victims who said, 'We've lost everything and we're sad, but we'll work together as a family and rebuild.' Others said, 'My life's over! I can't go on... I'll never recover.' You can choose to believe you're on your own, or that God's with you and bounce back. (4) Know your joy comes from God. There's no correlation between your circumstances and your joy. Joy comes from within; it's based on whom you trust, not what you see and feel. (5) Concentrate on what you've left, not on what you've lost. Make a list of the good things in your life, and thank God for what you still have. It's impossible to be grateful and hopeless at the same time.
Jentezen Franklin
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
