| Shayne's Story |
| Shayne's 17th Birthday |
| Isaiah 57: 1-2 "The Righteous perisheth , and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprighteous" |
| In no way was Shayne perfect but he did know the Lord and it was the Lord who said it was time for him to go. Shayne's Father Jim Rankin remembers the night still very well when Shayne came to him very late. He said in tears, " Dad I just don't feel like I am saved . I didn't really understand it when I came forward a few years ago ." Then as he hugged him Shayne said "Please show me Jesus". It was that night Shayne Rankin accepted Christ as his personal savior. The very next Sunday Shayne's Dad had the privilege of baptizing him. Shayne was diagnosed with Tachycardia and went through a seven hour heart surgery in July of 2003, he was a miracle child in many ways.( Read more on Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome also known as SADS.) Shayne went to Mexico with the teens from his church to spread the word of God, he always felt drawn to people that didn't have many friends and was always sticking up for people that he cared about. He was a mainstay on the High School football team in Blanchester. He played baseball and was a strong figure in State Power Lifting Competitions. The evening before Shayne's passing he battled it out one more time on the practice field against his brother Austin( whom we now call our Braveheart ) .. At the funeral, out of love and in front of hundreds of people , Shayne's football team lined up side-by-side to send him off. Someone once said that we shouldn't think of each day as a separation from Shayne but as one day closer to being with him again. Shayne has beaten us all to Heaven ( his shirt says it all, it says "Your Pace or Mine" ) , we love him very much and will address him each day as though he still sets among us, because in spirit he does. A friend of Shayne's came to Jim the night after the funeral and said that Shayne always watched their backs. Shayne is in Heaven watching all of our backs now.... |
| Always have Hope and Faith in God. Someday we will all be with Shayne again. Till then never forget the Smile... # 50 FOREVER our SHAYNE |
| The last picture we have of Shayne was taken a couple of weeks before he passed away. He is holding a Horseshoe Crab, some say you can see the figure of Jesus on the bottom of the Crab. We believe Shayne was showing that to us . Today you can visit "The World's Largest Horseshoe Crab" in Blanchester Ohio. It was donated to Shayne's church and sits where Shayne grew up which is now called Freedom Worship Baptist Church.. |
| Shayne's jersey hung in the boys locker room |
