The Full Life of a Boy

Yesterday a close family to Rachel and her parents lost their son, to a cancer he had been fighting for years. I hope I have the details right, but at five he was diagnosed with leukemia, and in the subsequent six or seven years it had been an on-again, off-again battle, from the edge of life back to recovering well.

I remember as I was dating Rachel and into our marriage each time her mom would give us updates on little Riley. I remember each time hope laced her words, and when a reserved pain edged through. The strange thing about this is I had never met Riley. By the worlds standards he should have no affect on my life. Yet hearing of his family's godliness and never ending patience, and his outlook on his own life and situation, is hitting me in an unexpected way. He is(not was) the youngest of a house of brothers, and I know earlier this week all of his brothers stayed with him at the hospital overnight. I'm picturing pillow feathers and Jell-o, but I can't verify these claims.

Hearing of his parents constant faithfulness to God is a vivid example of not only their undying love for Him, but how He fully transforms us make Him our first love. I have Kara and Noah, and, granted, I've only been given two years with Kara, but I am so absolutely head-over-heels in love with that little girl. I know that as time goes by that love will only grow, and has multiplied with Noah being brought into the mix. Hearing of a family of(I believe) five boys, I simply cannot imagine the pain they are bearing right now. My heart simply gives up, because you would never imagine life without those two little squirrels in my home. How simple it would be to blame God, to turn our backs on Him.

And yet I think of what I have heard of a family I've never met. The only consolation I could think is that Riley is not only NOT in a constant pain anymore, but he is gazing on our most holy Savior right now. He has accepted his inheritance, and is in the presence of the Creator of the universe. Now we can envy his life. Now we can sit and weep for joy at what he has before him, and what we(as believers) have before us. And we are so blessed that we don't need to worry about his destination. That lucky little boy, to meet our Saving Grace! And to spend eternity with him. He has a never ending joy in his life now. But we should keep Riley's parents and brothers in our thoughts and prayers, that God give them a supernatural grace in their day-to-day lives, and that they more and more understand His undying love for them at all time. A prayer we should ask for ourselves as well.

Praise be to God for Riley's life.