Heartbreak at the Cross

Sometime today (April 8, 2017) between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. someone vandalized the cross Andrew’s friends put up after he died.  This is at the intersection of Duluth Hwy 120 and Boggs Road. The gas station’s cameras don’t cover the area so we could not get any video and the workers didn’t recall seeing anything unusual.  They probably thought anyone there had reason to be there.  If you saw anything, heard anything, or know anything, please let me, Matt, or Natalia know.   

We have taken down the cross, I have sanded off the lipstick markings and we are planning to make it even better before putting it back up.  To those of you who have shown support, thank you so much. 

To the person(s) who did this:

               I am very sorry for your loss of Fred Bowens.  I don’t know if he was your dad, son, brother, or friend but I am intimately familiar with the pain of losing someone you love.  That said, your disrespect for my pain is heartbreaking.  I would never defile something done in memorial for someone.  My son, Andrew, was deeply loved by many and those people often visit his cross, some even having a chat with him while they are there.  He died March 24, 2016 in a motorcycle accident at that intersection.  I drive through that intersection every single day on my way to and from work.  Each day I look at that cross and say a little prayer and am reminded of how much he is loved.  You might be able to mar the cross but you can never mar the memories or my love for him.  His cross has been taken down for the moment, so it can be repaired – and in fact, upgraded.  So, thank you for the opportunity to make it even better and more representative of him.  I hope you can find peace with your loss.  I have peace, because I know Jesus, as did Andrew, and therefore, I will see him again one day.  Until then, I’ll continue to say a prayer each day and remember how much he is loved.