cherish.every.moment

Lucia Isabella Jackson, "Lucy", of Park City, UT , passed away at Primary Children's Hospital, Thursday, May 22, 2008, after a tragic accident. Lucy was born June 11, 2006, in Salt Lake City, UT, to Victor Michael and Molly Bice Jackson.

Lucy fell in love with Peter Pan and Captain Hook after watching her mother fly above the stage in the role of Peter. Lucy loves "juiccccce", jumping, dancing, feeding horses, playing with friends and family. Her little body wasn't big enough for her exhuberant and lively spirit which illuminated all who met her. Her name means "light" and she lives up to her name in every way. Lucy is survived by her parents, Vic and Molly, grand-parents, Le and Marlene Jackson and Russell and Nancy Bice, and many aunts, uncles and cousins who love her. We anxiously await her glorious resurrection so that we can be together again.

We are so grateful to the wonderful doctors and staff at Primary Children's Hospital who took such good care of our little Lucy during her last few days in mortality. We have felt the love and prayers of family, friends, and caring communities who held and sustained us during these difficult days. Thank you. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at the Park City LDS Stake Center beginning at 11:00 am. A viewing for friends and family will be held Monday, May 26, from 6 to 8 pm at the Kimball Ward, and at the Park City Stake Center from 9:30 to 10:30 am on Tuesday morning. Burial will be at the Salt Lake City cemetery. In lieu of flowers, friends have established a special fund. Donations to the "Lucy Jackson Fund" will be accepted at any Utah branch of Chase Bank.

Lucy donated her liver and other organs to save other children. A child in San Francisco recieved her liver and we are waiting to hear if it was successful. Just imagine how the parents of that little child felt when they got the good news. I'm so proud of Lucy.

So why am I posting about a little girl I don't even know, you ask? Because learning about her and her family has profoundly affected me. I first "met Lucy" when my former mission president emailed me and said that her mom (who was in my mission prior to my serving there) was asking for faith and prayers for their little girl. Then my mission companion emailed me their blog address. Apparently she choked on an apple, went into a coma, and never came out of it. The shock of reading her experience made me burst into tears and want to run and squeeze my almost 2 year old who is not much different from her in many ways. Toddlers are so full of life. I saw the above post on Sunday, after I had just taught a lesson to my sweet five-year-olds about how prayers are answered in the best way. They seemed to really grasp the principle that Heavenly Father always hears our prayers, but sometimes the answer is no. What kind of prayers of faith and hope and healing must have been offered for this sweet little girl? But she was called home, and what faith her parents seem to have in the eternal plan designed for them. I first read the following quote in the Pioneer Cemetary or one of the groves in Nauvoo, and how I love the prophet's comforting words:

"The Lord takes many away even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man and the sorrows and evils of this present world, they were too pure, too lovely, to live on this earth. Therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil and we shall have them again. The only difference between the old and the young dying is one lives longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other and is freed a little sooner from this miserable world."
-The Prophet Joseph Smith

She is saving you a seat and waiting for you there.