As I mentioned in my last post, while doing some research on Brownie, to my great delight I discovered Stephanie Crean @mylifejourneyblog. While I have not yet personally met her, I very much want to do so.
Stephanie was just two years old when Brownie ordered the murder of her dad Chris Crean. When the guys who were sent to kill Chris first came to his house and knocked on the door with weapons in hand, Chris came to the door with two-year-old Stephanie in his arms. The men fled but were ordered back to kill him even if it meant killing the baby in his arms.
Stephanie has been through much of her life, but her trials have only made her a better person. She is proof of how the grace of God can transform anyone. Her message is a message of hope and of love. In one of her 1st blogs she wrote: “My Life Journey – Unforgiveness? Love your Enemies?
When asked which emotion contribute most to physical illness, a group of eminent doctors said “Anger and Unforgiveness ” thats because overtime they release deadly toxins into your body. One Doctor said,its not what your eating, but whats eating you that threatens your health .
I have had to forgive many situations and people all my life , forgiveness is a very powerful thing , forgiving people can hurt in the moment , but it can set you free for life . Unforgiveness can rob you from life , I have seen it carry on for years.. and still now. You miss out on life , the beauty and people who care and truly want to get to know you , its sad really .. I missed out getting to knowing someone Im sure alot of people would love to know dearly , I missed out on that all due to unforgiveness and hatred towards other people , someone a young child would hear magical stories from back in there days this is how we ust to wash our clothes none of this fancy stuff we have our days now , i didn’t get to know him and one day he past .” You can read this blog here – https://www.facebook.com/mylifejourneyblog/posts/1735291833416842:0?__tn__=K-R
On July 23, 2017, she wrote an open letter of forgiveness to the men who killed her father, Chris Crean, and who were prepared to kill her, just a two-year-old baby, if necessary. It is one of the most moving examples of what Lord Jesus Christ are asked those who would follow him to do. I will include parts of this letter here, but encourage you to read it in full at https://www.facebook.com/mylifejourneyblog/posts/1967749856837704:0?__tn__=K-R
“To all four men and the black power gang that were invovled in the murder of my father Christopher Crean, my name is Stephanie Crean and I forgive you for murdering my father.
For many years I have not spoken to the media about how I feel about this heart breaking tragedy .
I forgive you, not because what you did in murdering my father was right, because that was not right. I forgive you even though there was mention of shooting me only at the age of two.
I forgive you so that you may have peace and I too. So that our families may have peace, and so that the community may have peace also. So that the nation may have peace, because that is what is right . I believe that with justice comes peace.
Whether or not you are changed men, I forgive you.
For many years the title above your heads has been of convicted murderers on the tv, in magazines, in newspapers, and even on the internet. But today I write to you as sons of your fathers and mothers, as brothers to your brothers and sisters, as uncles to your nieces and nephews, and fathers to your sons and daughters.
My dad was not a perfect man, but he was a good man. You too are not perfect men, but you can be good men. You may not be able to start a new beginning, but you can start a new ending. A good ending.
I also am not a perfect person and I also have done things in my life I am not proud of. I also cannot change my beginning, but I can choose to have a better ending. I also, can choose to be a good person. I’m 22 this year, and what life has taught me the most is to love your enemies. I have my own blog that I write stories for people to read and I focus a lot of my stories on forgiveness and love, to love your enemies.
I know this to be true. No one is perfect, but we are all blood and flesh, skin and bones. We are all human. I also know this, that unforgiveness and hate will not change any circumstance or person. Until people understand that we were put on this earth to love, until then, there will be crime, there will be hurt, there will be war.
I forgive you all because I want you to start forgiving yourselves, and once again I’m not saying this because what you did was right, but because whatever love you have left I hope you use that love to change yourselves. Change the ending to your story and use that to help change others, because if you don’t, who will stand up in your shoes and tell your story? I hope you use it for good and I hope you use that love to give to your families, because I hope that one day we all understand that love is the only thing that will give us all peace. Because forgiveness is the only thing that is going to set us free and change everything about our life journeys’.
However, whether or not you are changed men, I still forgive you. If you do not seek out the hopes I have for you, I still forgive you.
I am proud of my dad for standing up for what was right. One day I hope your families will feel the same way I do when they see you change the ending of your life journey to a ending of men that are not perfect men, but were good men.”
Stephanie’s message had a profound impact on Brownie Mane, the person who ordered her dad’s murder. He feels unworthy of forgiveness and does not personally seek it, but has now dedicated his life to trying to prevent as many young men as possible from following his path and thereby preventing the suffering to other families that he caused Stephanie and her family.
I have taken the liberty (although I will ask permission from Stephanie) to share this wonderful and touching insight with the inmates who attend our Meditation and Mindfulness program at the Paremoremo Prison. In sharing this and discussing the critical need to forgive and to be forgiven, everyone attending these programs is deeply touched and forced to reflect very deeply upon their life. Stephanie’s message is a message of great hope and of redemption, not due to our own qualification or worthiness. Rather, in spite of being deeply fallen and most unworthy, we can all be recipients of God’s grace and love.
I hope and pray that Stephanie will continue along this path and continue to inspire others to take shelter in the wonderful transcendental message of Lord Jesus Christ.