Rileigh Rose Jackson
January 18, 2005
In His presence is fullness of joy
Today is Rileigh Rose's 4th birthday, in heaven. We miss her dearly, but are comforted knowing she is well and her heavenly Father is close to her, celebrating her arrival into the everlasting kingdom four years ago.
Starting off this blog post, since most of you are close friends and family that read this, I want to say a heart felt thanks for all of your prayers for Lindy and I over these past 4 years. God has been faithful, and used the prayers of you all to help us find our way through deep valleys. We thank God for all of you, and pray that you feel God's pleasure in that you have cared for us well.
God has been, and will be, faithful to us. One of the ways I am freshly aware of his faithfulness to us, in light of the loss of Riliegh, is that he has kept us over these past 4 years. He has protected us by drawing both Lindy and I to himself individually, made our marriage stronger by knitting our hearts closer together, and he placed us in a solid local church which has faithfully cared for us by making us aware of the truth of the Gospel and God's character. Because of these things we've been able to worship God for what we know of him, and not withhold worship from him because of unanswered questions as to why this happened to our little girl. Our hearts are full as we consider the fact that despite our sin and ways we drift from God every single day, he has shown us great mercy, continued to be patient with us, and he does not let go of us.
One of the reasons we thank God for Rileigh is because in her death, it has loosened our grip on the things in this world. She has caused us to really look forward to eternity in heaven. Part of this is because she is a tangible gift waiting for us in heaven. We held Rileigh on this earth for only moments before letting her go. But, there is a day coming when we will hold her body again, and this time it will be full of life! What a gift both of us are looking forward to! I can't express in words how excited Lindy and I are about the eventual reunion with Rileigh. Whenever it is that I get there, I cannot wait to meet Jesus face to face. How sweet it will be to worship him, and say thank you a thousand times over for saving me from my sins so that I can be in paradise. I will also say thank you because if he didn't save me, then I would never have seen my little girl again. After I've spent time with him, I expect my eyes will start to wander, looking for Rileigh Rose. When our eyes meet, and Jesus makes it clear that, yes indeed, that is Rileigh, what a glorious embrace, what joyful tears will be shed at that moment when I see her again. This is something both Lindy and I think of often and are eagerly looking forward to.
So, in an effort to remember Rileigh, I thought I would share these thoughts as a way to honor her birthday. Rileigh, happy birthday sweetheart. Your Mom and I cannot wait to hold you again. We know that you are well, and we know the number of days we will be apart will be far less compared to the days we will be together. We love you.
Dad and Mom
