In Honor of: Kyle McFeely
During the first weekend of August I was working at the Cabela’s in Wheeling, WVA laughing and having and big time with a bunch of awesome hunters and thanking everyone for their support of Realtree. It was a great time and I was very honored to meet many wonderful people. But no one influenced me more than Steve and Sally McFeely of Grove City, PA. We instantly connected because of our common Faith in Christ but what bonded us EVEN MORE was their incredible story of their son Kyle.
I was so touched, I asked Sally to write their story and send it to me so I can share it with you.
PLEASE READ THIS UNBELIEVABLE ACCOUNT TO THE END.
“Our only son, Kyle, was killed on October 14, 2005 by a driver who had been drinking. Kyle was 22 years old at the time of his death. He was a senior a Slippery Rock University.He was in the National Guard. He worked at General Electric. He worked at Pizza Hut delivering pizza. He had a fun-loving sense of humor. He was our hunting buddy. Most importantly, he loved Jesus Christ. His faith was very, very important to him. He was the best son we could have ever dreamed of.
On October 3, only 11 days before the tragedy, Kyle called me at work and told me that he had had a terrible dream the night before. He said he woke up and sat up in bed drenched with sweat, unable to sleep. I asked him what the dream was about. He said that he dreamt that Jesus came and took him to heaven. I asked him about the dream and he said that he was in heaven and was looking for his dad and me and his sister, Amber, there. He couldn’t find us and kept asking people where we were. Finally he found someone that knew something. That person told him that one of us had made it to heaven, but not the other two. Kyle told me that when I got home from work, I needed to tell his dad about the dream and tell him he needed to get more serious about his faith. Kyle said he was going to go meet up with Amber after her college class and tell her the same thing.
At that point in their lives, Kyle’s dad, Steve, and his sister, Amber, did go to church, but their faith and relationship with Jesus Christ was not of utmost importance to them. Kyle’s dream portrayed the urgent message that they needed to change.The following week, Kyle would no longer be with us.
Through the message of Kyle’s dream, not only did Steve and Amber’s main focus become their relationship with Jesus, but many others as well. Steve was diagnosed with AML Leukemia in September 2007. Throughout the past year and a half, he has been in the hospital approximately 4 months. He received a bone marrow transplant in January 2009. We have told Kyle’s story to countless people that we have met in the hospital. Amber put together a presentation on Kyle’ s story and has spoken to high school groups, church youth groups, etc. That dream has been a springboard to relay the urgency that Kyle wanted to portray – that NOW is the time to accept Christ. No one knows if they have tomorrow – or even the next minute.”
I have thought about the McFeely’s incredible and inspirational story many, many times over the past few months. It has enabled me to put things into their proper priority in my life over and over.
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Awesome read David. I would love to thank this family for sharing their tragedy along with their great reward. As hard as it must be to deal with the things they have been dealing with; just imagine how difficult it would be without the peace of Jesus Christ to sustain them. May God continue to bless them & their ministries as well as yours. As always David, thank you for being so open & vocal about your faith. God Blees.
Steve - Alabama
God is sooooooo cool!!!!!!
Can't wait to meet Kyle (and Jesus of course)
Kim B.
Very touching story !
Wow, what a truely amazing story. I was brought up in church and always had a good relationship with Christ, but i fell away from him after my parents devorce, and getting into partying. this past january i gave my life beck over to Jesus Christ, and how sweet it is!
i think it is awesome that you are not like most, and afraid to share your faith with the public! great job posting this story.... If someone reading this hasnt gave their life to Christ, please dont wait one second longer. God is calling you.
Steven Bonney
David I just want to thank you for your willingness to express your Faith. Many people talk about God, but sadly very few mention the name of Christ. For it is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone that we can be saved and enjoy the promise of eternal life in Heaven. If I never have the chance to meet up with you on earth, I'll see ya in heaven. Maybe you could introduce me to Kyle. Sure would love to meet him.
Again thanks for representing christians so well in the hunting industry.
With much Respect
Randy Ringler
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
I appreciate your boldness to publish this story. I am so thankful that this young man was able to encourage so many to recieve Jesus as Savior. Let us all not just know him as Saviour, but also as Lord of our lives like this young man did. Thanks!
Great Story, Thank you for sharing! Craig Dilbeck/Dalton
Thank you for sharing the name of Christ through this story. Please continue to use the platform God has put you on to share the Gospel!!!!
David,
What a great testimony of God's work in the lives of believers. Each of us has been given a very specific role to play with our time on earth and it is great to know Kyle fulfilled his (Matthew 28:18-20). Through his walk, many will come to know Christ. Thanks for all you do brother!
pastor paul
host of divine moments
midwest whitetail
I wanted to thank you David for posting this and being proud of your faith in Jesus Christ. I think this is really missing on all the websites and tv shows you watch today. We need to thank our savior for all the blessings he gives us because the truth is we never know when we are going home to him. I also want to thank the family that had this tragedy. There faith is amazing and there story really touched me. Just something to check out, Our youth group did a skit called "The everything skit" it is an awesome skit and will really touch you. You can check it out on youtube.
Sad but true, there aren't many folks that have faith like that. That's what this country was built for, freedom of religion. Why aren't there more people like Kyle? He should be an inspiration to everyone to have a stronger relationship with Christ. I feel for his family, I recently lost my Dad and he was my number 1 hunting buddy. Deer camp isn't the same without him but I know he would'nt want me to stop. It shows we should'nt take so many things for granted and enjoy what we have got.
David - what an incredible story. It's amazing how God works different ways in different people. Kyle has truly lift a mark on this side of heaven. Thanks for sharing the story with us. It's great to see people mix business with Christ!
Thanks for sharing! Truly, puts my mind and life back on the right path.
Rest In Peace, Kyle...God Bless