Cody's Point of View

For those who did not know Cody, it is difficult to describe his perspective, or to imagine how he could have been so filled with joy given his circumstances. The starting point, and the bottom line, for trying to explain his life is the presence of Jesus.

I am keenly aware that this one statement can mean so many things to different people, depending on their own frame of reference. But I am not talking about some conceptual or abstract idea. I am not talking about believing something just to make himself feel better about circumstances that were difficult. I am not talking about wishful thinking or blind obedience to a distant deity. I am not talking about the imaginings of a child’s fantasies. None of those things would have held up under the weight of facing his death. No childish wishes or imagined fantasies could have prepared him for gradually losing all of the faculties we take for granted.

Jesus was Cody’s very real, very much alive, and constantly present partner through all of his life. His earliest memory, as he shared it, was of riding his big wheel on the sidewalk in front of our house with Jesus running alongside him, cheering him on. Cody’s experience was Jesus breathing for him, Jesus teaching him, and Jesus walking beside him every step. Cody talked with Jesus about everything. He felt Jesus’ strength when he was weak. He knew Jesus’ promises would be kept, because he knew how much Jesus loved him. He FELT how much Jesus loved him. Because of that certainty, Cody did not fear anything, and he kept his joy and peace all the way to his time to go home.

I pray that you would come to know, if you don’t already, the unfathomable impact of the depth of Jesus’ love for you – just like Cody knew it, lived it, and received from Jesus’ presence the kind of life which people in much better circumstances than he had seek. Nothing of this world will ever provide what Cody had. Only the presence of Jesus can give what Cody’s life expressed – true, and wonderful, freedom.