Heaven Day

 

 

 

Each year on the anniversary of Caden's death we celebrate Heaven Day.

We gather together with friends and family and send up sky lanterns.

 

 

The past two years we have attached tags and labeled them with names of loved ones already experiencing the Joy of Heaven.

 

This came about because I wanted to teach my boys about death and God's promises to us. I wanted to teach them that for a believer, death meant Heaven... which is something to rejoice over.

 

Our culture revels in gory and macabre of death. It exults zombies and all things creepy and scary on Halloween... but my children have death and the effects of it in front of their eyes daily. They see pictures of their sweet sister on our walls... they see their daddy silently struggle each visit. I want Rigg and Ryder to know, in the very depths of their hearts, that for a follower of Jesus... to die is to gain EVERYTHING.

 

 

 

As I stated before:

Heaven is our reward, not our consolation prize.

 

So each year, as we reflect on the day that God turned our faces to Him by gently taking our precious girl... we celebrate.

 

 

We celebrate that Jesus came to earth and died on the cross as payment for our sin.

We celebrate that because of that work Christ did on the cross we can go to Heaven when we die.

We celebrate that Caden is in Heaven living a far better and richer life than she ever could have here.

We celebrate that we can know that we will see her again.

 

And this year

 

We celebrate because we know that in the midst of our hurt and suffering watching the Captain labor under the weight of cancer, he will see Christ.

And he will see sweet Caden.

 

 

 

Here is what I shared on Facebook:

Today is Heaven Day. 6 years ago today my sweet baby girl went to be with Jesus. Caden Joelle was 2 days shy of 8 months old. Today my heart aches with missing her and rejoices that she is in Heaven with her savior, where I firmly believe she is LIVING a fuller, richer and better LIFE than she ever could have here. And although I miss her, I know for certain I will see her again because I have put my faith in Jesus Christ. So although today marks the day that she left, I choose to celebrate that she is safe, loved, alive, and because of Christ I will live with her for all eternity. HAPPY HEAVEN DAY!

 

here are links to our previous Heaven Day celebrations and/or ponderings:

http://www.andyandcari.blogspot.com/2013/09/cadens-heaven-day.html

http://www.andyandcari.blogspot.com/2012/09/heaven-day-2012.html

http://www.andyandcari.blogspot.com/2011/09/cadens-3rd-heaven-day.html

http://andyandcari.blogspot.com/2010/09/and-then-it-came-to-me.html

http://andyandcari.blogspot.com/2009/09/was-and-is.html