Death does not have to be in vain

To the editor:
I want to express that I know that nothing I write can take away the pain of the loss of a child and that I in no way want to even pretend that I can fathom the deepness of that pain. What I do want to do is to tell what I saw and experienced the few days that I was in Indiana.
There are a precious few people in our world in whom exists so much life that it can not be contained within one person.
A few days before Jesus’ death He said, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain; it never becomes more, but lives by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.”
Jesus was describing Himself as a seed. There was too much life within Himself for just one person. But by His death, He became like a seed … producing far more life by the affect His death had upon others.
As one who could listen to conversations and observe people’s actions objectively, I learned that Dustin Quakenbush was like that. He is like one of those seeds that contained more life than could be held in one person.
What I saw was people whose lives were not simply affected by Dustin, but people whose lives had been inplanted with Dustin. People who carried Dustin away with them and will spread him to others by the way they were affected by him. I seen in those that spoke at Dustin’s funeral a people who were not simply mourning a friend, but a people whose fabric had been interwoven with a person.
I observed that Dustin was even affecting people who did not know him that well. I stepped outside during one of the visitation times and met a man unloading some furniture at one of the stores. I offered to help and he accepted. He asked if we were in town for the funerals, and we told him we were. I think his exact words were something like, “That Dustin kid was bringing life back to this town.” I left Redkey wanting to be more like Dustin Quakenbush.
One might be led to think, “If someone is affecting so many people, then why did he have to go?” That is a very fair question, and the answer takes us back to the seed analogy. Seeds can be beautiful to look at by themselves, but it is not until the seed gives its life that the bountiful harvest within that seed is released. Dustin could have continued to affect those around him for a long time, but those would have been the only ones affected. They would never have had the opportunity to spread that affect to others … and those people to others … and those to others … and so on.
As far as the town goes, I pray that the folks have been so affected that they will continue what Dustin started. I hope people will take an interest in the abandoned buildings like he did and work to rebuild them. I hope folks will start new businesses. I hope some of Dustin’s friends will finish what he started. I hope that someone will continue to breath life into Redkey. As for me, I plan to work on my smile. From Dustin I learned exactly how powerful a smile can be.
I suspect the reaction to this letter will be just like mine would be. I would be happy to know that someone noticed my son’s life had such a far-reaching affect and purpose. But in reality, I would trade it all to simply have him back with me. That is being a human being and no less is to be expected. The sacrifice is actually the greatest sacrifice of all … and it helps me to better understand the pain of my Heavenly Father when He sacrificed His Son Jesus for me.
We here in Tennessee were touched by Dustin.
Dean Patton
Crossville, Tenn.