Friday, February 24, 2012
Final BLog
Due to my lack of commitment to this blog, I am going to stop trying! We are enjoying some wonderful travels,meeting encouraging people, and helping out where we can. If you find this blog and want to know what we are up to or where we are, please don't hesitate to call or email! God is continuing to bless us in so many ways. Rick and Gail
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Family in Nevada
Friday, January 20, 2012
Starting 2012
First, forgive us for not keeping up with this blog. In fact we may not continue it because we lack commitment to it! However, we have been blessed to travel to south Texas to sojourn at the Sunny Glen Childrens Home. What a wonderful place! We enjoyed meeting the staff and children and seeing the wonderful work they do. Also, getting to know fellow sojourners. We were headed across Texas to meet up with some of Rick's family when we got the call of the death of my nephew, Cody. He had been fighting cancer for two years and lost. It was difficult taking off when we knew his death was close, but we shared a wonderful Christmas together and knew there was nothing but prayers for us. We are now back in the Village to share in the memory of Cody. My sister, Diane, posted this tribute to Cody and I know I could not have done better. So, I copied and pasted it here. We are surrounded by love and faith to know we will meet again. Gail
Monday,
January 16th Cody Mabery was peacefully carried by Angels to his new home.
Many of you took part in helping it to be easier to provide medical treatment for Cody so that man-made interventions might help him to be with us longer. His Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers who organized one of the first fund raisers, the Kutting Korner Salon & Spa who offered a benefit day, and the Village Church of Christ who organized a benefit sale for financial support, and the Village Voice for their coverage. Other individuals contributed privately. Our church family and many of you provided prayers, visits, and, food, and those of you that would come by and take Cody for a ride –just so he could get out of the house. Many others were supporting in ways that we may never be aware of. How much more can be endured when shared with others who love, who care, who are concerned. Thank-you and gratitude from the family go out to you.
I have been humbled over the last few days. A week ago Cody made the decision that he had had enough and it was time to come back home to Arkansas and prepare to leave this earth. Not everyone gets to say good bye to their friends and family. On Friday night and Saturday Cody was surrounded by family and friends. Telling stories and sharing memories. Laughter, tears, but lots of love and caring. Many personal moments took place. Others have written or spoken about Cody’s character and what he meant to them. Besides his sense of humor, the characteristic that stands out to me and what I bear witness to is his thoughtfulness/ generosity. Maybe it was fish he had caught that he would share or firewood he would provide ; but importantly it was his time, his presence he would give.
Even at the end Cody was still thinking of others. He wanted to share many of his personal things with his friends and family. He gave his cousin, my son, one of his hunting guns. Cody had taken him hunting and this represented times that they had shared. How many of us have that opportunity or even make use of an opportunity to do this before we are gone from this earth? The following is what my father, Jim Mabery, Cody’s Papaw, would be saying as to Cody’s passing: adapted from Henry Van Dyke “Gone from my sight”.
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads his white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. He is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch him until at length he hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: “There, he is gone!”
“Gone Where?”
Gone from my sight. That is all. He is just as large in mast and hull and spar as he was when he left my side and he is just as able to bear his load of living freight to his destined port.
His diminished size is in me, not in him. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: “There, he is gone!” there are other eyes watching his coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: “Here he comes!” We love you and will miss you dear nephew.
Many of you took part in helping it to be easier to provide medical treatment for Cody so that man-made interventions might help him to be with us longer. His Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers who organized one of the first fund raisers, the Kutting Korner Salon & Spa who offered a benefit day, and the Village Church of Christ who organized a benefit sale for financial support, and the Village Voice for their coverage. Other individuals contributed privately. Our church family and many of you provided prayers, visits, and, food, and those of you that would come by and take Cody for a ride –just so he could get out of the house. Many others were supporting in ways that we may never be aware of. How much more can be endured when shared with others who love, who care, who are concerned. Thank-you and gratitude from the family go out to you.
I have been humbled over the last few days. A week ago Cody made the decision that he had had enough and it was time to come back home to Arkansas and prepare to leave this earth. Not everyone gets to say good bye to their friends and family. On Friday night and Saturday Cody was surrounded by family and friends. Telling stories and sharing memories. Laughter, tears, but lots of love and caring. Many personal moments took place. Others have written or spoken about Cody’s character and what he meant to them. Besides his sense of humor, the characteristic that stands out to me and what I bear witness to is his thoughtfulness/ generosity. Maybe it was fish he had caught that he would share or firewood he would provide ; but importantly it was his time, his presence he would give.
Even at the end Cody was still thinking of others. He wanted to share many of his personal things with his friends and family. He gave his cousin, my son, one of his hunting guns. Cody had taken him hunting and this represented times that they had shared. How many of us have that opportunity or even make use of an opportunity to do this before we are gone from this earth? The following is what my father, Jim Mabery, Cody’s Papaw, would be saying as to Cody’s passing: adapted from Henry Van Dyke “Gone from my sight”.
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads his white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. He is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch him until at length he hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: “There, he is gone!”
“Gone Where?”
Gone from my sight. That is all. He is just as large in mast and hull and spar as he was when he left my side and he is just as able to bear his load of living freight to his destined port.
His diminished size is in me, not in him. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: “There, he is gone!” there are other eyes watching his coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: “Here he comes!” We love you and will miss you dear nephew.
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