09/04/81 - 05/29/99

"Bound For Greater things"

When I meet you on the highway, I will greet you with a song. We’ll play music by the roadside when the journey seems too long. In the rain and in the fire, I will strain to hear you sing. The Kingdom is our heart’s desire, we are bound for greater things.

Singin Singin, we are bound for greater things, bound to walk the higher road. Drawn by dreams and led by visions, we will know the grace of God. We will leave the past behind, we will fly with eagles’ wings. We will run the race before us, we are bound for greater things.

Help me find the chains that bind me as we walk into the light. We can see with clearer vision what confused us in the night. The One who made the golden morning, the One who gave our spirits wings, gave us these hands to help each other on our way to greater things.

Singin, Singin, we are bound for greater things, bound to walk the higher road. Drawn by dreams and led by visions, we will know the grace of God. We will leave the past behind, we will fly with eagles’ wings. We will run the race before us, we are bound for greater things.

Copyright 1993 Ken Medema Music/ASCAP/Brier Patch Music

Kevin you were bound for greater things and how you loved singing this song! You loved and cherished music, life, fun, your family, and most importantly, your friends. You loved and accepted people anyway they came to you, you were good listener, and you knew how to make people laugh. How dare anyone to cut your journey short?

And even though we know that now you live in the light of our Father who makes the golden morning, we miss you so! We are grieving in darkness here on Earth! We strain to hear your voice, we miss your song. It is too hard right now to leave our past behind, you are our past! But we know that with God’s help someday we will once again fly on His eagle’s wings. And as we move forward in our lives without you, we know you are smiling down on us urging us to go on. You would want us to live our lives to the fullest as you did, ending someday where we will once again hear you sing as you lead us to the finish line.

Until then...... We love you, Mom and Dad, Kirsten, and Karen

Footprints

The lines, ‘Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sand of time," perfectly describe my philosophy of life, or so I thought. I first read Longfellow’s ‘Psalm of Life" two years ago. At the time, I could vividly imagine my footprints, or my legacy to the world. I wanted to become a famous cardiothoracic surgeon and perform dramatic, life-saving operations. I imagined acquiring countless accolades and earning an enormous salary. Longfellow’s poem is still a source of inspiration for me; however, I will forever read it with a different perspective about life. In May, I lost a close friend to random violence, and that instant on a lonely mountain road changed my attitude toward every aspect of life. Kevin was an average student who enjoyed playing soccer; he was not president of any organization, nor had he won any prestigious awards. However, despite his apparent lack of fame, hundreds of people attended his funeral. His classmates, members of a generation known for their apathy, dedicated the new soccer field in his memory, and his soccer teammates were inspired to win a state championship. Fund-raisers were held for months by complete strangers to raise reword funds for information about his murderer. The explanation for this apparent contradiction may lie in Longfellow’s lines, ‘Footprints, that perhaps another ... seeing, shall take heart again." Kevin left countless footprints throughout his life. He always had a smile for everyone, from the popular cheerleader to the mentally handicapped student in a wheelchair. He invariably had a ridiculous joke on an unpleasant day and a kind word for a harried teacher. This poem made me realize that savoring moments of happiness is more important than fame and fortune; that healthy rivalry is motivating, but ruthless competition destroys the spirit; and that friends like Kevin are the most precious gifts. My new dream is to touch lives as profoundly as my friend did during his seventeen short years -- I want to leave footprints like Kevin’s.

Carlee  Erin Ashley
USC Scholarship Essay
January 2000

The murder of Kevin Shirley remains unsolved.   Please click here to view his unsolved case page.