Alan Flowers Memorial Prayer Walk

 

Alan Flowers Memorial Prayer Walk

October 18, 2026

One year ago today, everything changed for our family. One year ago today, our hearts were loaded down with a heavy grief that has been our constant companion ever since. It has been 12 months since my nephew, Alan Flowers, died in a horrible workplace accident. He was 33. This tragedy resulted in a family losing a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and a grandson. It was a catastrophic day that led to a yearlong trail of tears. It is still hard to believe that it really happened. It seems like a bad dream, but we can’t wake up from the dream. We know that God has walked each step of the journey with us. Sometimes we felt his presence. Sometimes we did not. But we know He was there because He promised He would be. We look forward to the day when God will wipe every tear from our eyes. We know that He will because He promised.

The Lord put it on my heart to do something in honor of Alan. I came up with the idea of a memorial walk. Alan has been gone for 12 months so I decided to walk for 12 miles on the St. Marks Bike Trail in memory of my nephew. One mile for every month that he has been gone. Over time, I decided to make it a prayer walk. Each mile would be dedicated to praying for a different family member. I made a list of family members and decided to walk, pray, and remember.

I began training about a month in advance. It is not unusual for me to walk 3 or 4 miles a day several times a week. But it had been quite a while since I walked 12 miles in one afternoon. I knew I had to get ready for a journey that I wish I didn’t have to take.

It has been a long year for our family, so I wanted it to be a long walk. It was. In my own way, I wanted to remember Alan, grieve his death, and celebrate his life. I did. I even added a few songs to my playlist that Alan liked. There has been so much pain for our family during the past year. I wanted to feel it. I wanted it to hurt. It did. We have cried out to the Lord so many times during the past year. I wanted this to be a 12-mile journey of prayer and intercession. It was. I walked for 3 ½ hours. I remembered. I grieved. I hurt. I celebrated. I called the names of our family members out to the Lord in prayer. I felt the need to do this prayer walk all alone. But I was not really alone. The One who has walked with us all through the last year was walking with me.

There were times along the way that I wanted to give up. But I kept going step after step, mile after mile, and prayer after prayer. There was something very specific that motivated me to keep pressing on. I knew that my wife would meet me at the end of my journey. She would pick me up in the truck and take me home. At home, I would find relief. At home, I would find renewal. At home, I would find rest.

Home motivates us to keep on going. We know that one day our journey will be done. For those of us who know Jesus, we are headed toward home. There is a lot of hurt along the way, but we are headed home. At the end of the trail, the One who has walked with us will meet us and take us to the home that He has prepared for us. There we will find relief. There we will find renewal. There we will find rest. No more pain. No more tears. No more grief. No more death. We are not there yet, but we are headed home. Until then, keep on walking. Keep on remembering. Keep on celebrating. Keep on praying.

Alan, we miss you. Family, my prayer walk is completed, but my prayers for you will continue. Jesus, our prayer to you is this, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” 

Uncle Randy 

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