MARTIN

MARTIN

The poster simply says, “No More Hurting People -- Peace.”


On both sides of the word Peace hand-colored hearts lead us to believe that peace can be accomplished through love. The serious dark eyes and the crooked missing tooth smile of the artist holding the poster belong to 8-year-old Martin Richard.

Martin Richard will forever be the name in the headlines as the boy who lost his life in the Boston Marathon Bombing.  Martin was more than a headline.  Martin had a message.

Some of us take decades to understand our place in life and secure a purpose for why we are here.  But, Martin accomplished this in 8 short years. He was here to create the poster; to share the message.  If he hadn’t been the boy who lost his life we wouldn’t have seen it.  It would have hung on his parent’s refrigerator and been packed away in a box of memories to be pulled out when he was grown and had kids of his own.

But Martin’s purpose was bigger.  His message was more important. His mission was more immediate.  It needed to be seen now, in this time when headlines are daily records of violence and anger. It needed to be seen by the world.   It needed to be felt in a deep riveting way that strikes to the core of our hearts—as only the tragic death of a child can.

We may not have known Martin -- and yet we did.  He is everyone’s son, nephew, brother, cousin or grandson.  He is every wide-eyed child in our lives and in our world.

Today our life lesson is brought to you by Martin Richard.  His message was one of direction.  One of love.  One of hope.  His message simply said, “No More Hurting People – Peace.”

Can we remember this message?  Can we remember the hearts he colored with care?  Can we return, through love, to a place of Peace one person at a time, one kind expression of hope at a time?

Let’s say Thank you to Martin Richard for teaching us that sometimes the loving message we need to hear comes from a child’s simple art project. And sometimes it takes painful eye-opening tragedy for us to see it.                                

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Pennie's Life Lesson:
      “No More Hurting People – Peace.”~ Martin Richard


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