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A Children's
Memorial Garden
The entrance to this children's
memorial garden is marked by a beautiful red marble plaque, which is
inscribed with the words "In memory of our Children, Forever loved
and in our hearts, Dearly missed and always remembered." It is
the figurines surrounded by flowers just beyond the plaque, though, that
invite a closer look.
Initial plans for construction of the
memorial garden did not include a statue, but when one was unexpectedly
donated, the Greater New Orleans TCF chapter was thankful for the
generous gift. However, at first Garden Committee members were
uncertain when they saw the three-foot-high bronze depiction of a young
girl and boy playing leapfrog. They realized later, though, the
beautiful and memorable message it conveyed. The little girl's
pigtails are flying in the air as she jumps over the boy. What a
powerful statement about LIFE! Many bereaved parents' most
treasured memories are of their children at play. And even those
parents whose children never had a chance to play had hopes and dreams
of that possibility. With that in mind, this statue became the
perfect illustration of their garden's goal: a place not to mourn the
deaths of the children but a place to celebrate that they lived.
The unexpected arrival of the perfect
statue was only the first of what some feel are 'signs' of their
children's support. The four marble benches in the garden hold
another "gift."
Many bereaved parents have either
heard 'penny' stories or related their own remarkable experiences of
what they feel are 'messages' from their children. This chapter
has their own amazing story. When the benches were installed,
workers unexplainably used pennies rather than their usual shims to
balance the benches. As each bench has 27 copper pennies under the
legs, angels have tossed this Memorial Garden 108 hugs from heaven!
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A PENNY
I found a penny today
Just lying on the ground,
That's not just a penny
This little coin I've found.
Found pennies come from heaven
That's what my grandpa told me
He said angels toss them dow
Oh, how I
loved that story.
He said when an angel misses you
They toss a penny down
Sometimes just to cheer you up
To make a smile out of your frown.
So don't pass by
that penny
When you're feeling
blue,
That's a penny from heaven
That an angel's tossed to you.
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THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS