One of the most important lessons we learned from Cody is the meaning of the verse, "the Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).  His great peace, joy and serenity in spite of his circumstances came directly from his living with both feet planted firmly in God's kingdom with Jesus.  This world to him was more "window dressing" than reality.  His reality was where he lived with Jesus.  He lived each and every day in true freedom, based on knowing the truth from Jesus in his heart and experiencing the presence of Jesus participating with him in everything he did. 

During the spring of his 17th year, Cody talked to me about his going home with Jesus.  He pointed out that, all things being as they would normally be, he would be leaving in just a few months to go off to college.  So, he suggested, "Imagine I am going to college in Australia.  I would still be around but I wouldn't be able to come home for visits.  That's what it is going to be like."  Cody knew this and could comfort me with this truth because he already lived in heaven - instead of heaven only being inside his heart, now it would be all around him as well.

When Cody was 14 years old, he asked me, quite matter-of-factly, if he was going to die. I told him, "Sure, honey, we are all going to die." He said, "No, I mean soon." I suggested he pray and ask Jesus what He had to say about it. So he did. When I asked him what Jesus had said, he responded, "Jesus told me, touch as many lives as you can, then come on home." This statement governed his attitudes, his actions, and his focus from that time forward. He realized that Jesus' words to him are applicable to every believer. He did not fear dying; he was too busy living. From Jesus' words to Cody, shared with us, we learned the meaning of life and the powerlessness of circumstances. It didn’t matter if Cody (or any one of us) was going to die sooner or later; none of this life is about saving or preserving our flesh.  What is important is our spirit, and all we think is important is not even real. 

  One day, David was talking to Cody about how much he was going to miss him, and how sad he would be if Cody went home with Jesus.  Cody laughed in response.  Confused, David asked why he was laughing. Cody responded with the truth he had learned from Jesus: “It’s only an interim.”  Again, David asked what he meant by that statement, and Cody continued, “Any way you slice it, there is going be an interim.  Either you go first, and I’ll be without you or I go first and you’ll be without me, but it’s only an interim.  Then we get to be together forever.”  Cody was 15 years old when he spoke this wisdom. In other words, the outcome is the same no matter what.  There is comfort in that truth.

Jesus shared many things with Cody about heaven and what he would experience there.  One example was the image of Cody playing baseball with Jesus.  Cody loved playing baseball, so this vision of his future thrilled him. According to Cody, Jesus was the pitcher and Cody was batting and running the bases. We asked if every hit was a home run (this was heaven, after all), but Cody laughed and said, “No, Jesus is pitching! I think I’ll hit some singles.” 

We wanted the logo for the Cody Lane Foundation to include two important ideas. First, Cody's nickname was "the Bear" so we wanted to use a bear to represent Cody in the logo.  But, we wanted to include a palm tree to represent Cody's love of the ocean and islands, which culminated in his request to the Make-a-Wish Foundation to sponsor a cruise for us as a family to the US Virgin Islands in 2006.  At first, the idea of a bear on an island didn't make a lot of sense - until we thought about it and realized, what better way to present how Cody lived in the kingdom than to choose something that you would not see in this world! A special thank you to Bonnie Wasson for contributing her time and talents to design the logo for the Foundation.