My Hero Avery Hoskins

Now, here's Odie!
Hey Friends, 

This is Odie checking in from Ohio. It is officially the first Saturday of spring, but sadly today's forecast did not get the memo. 😭I am really ready for warmer temperatures. Are you glad it is spring too?

Last week was also cold and pure wintertime. If I recall correctly, the high was 41 degrees and the low was 28 degrees on Saturday. We even had a little bit of sleet and snow in Ohio that day. I am so ready to say goodbye to winter.

My Hero Avery W. Hoskins

Last Saturday was also a bittersweet day that I will remember for a long time. It was the homegoing celebration for my buddy Avery Hoskins. He had many friends and they came together to love his family and honor him.

Avery was an incredible boy. It was a privilege to be his friend. If you saw his smile, heard him clap and laugh you were smitten by the charm of Avery Weston Hoskins!

Avery in August 2018

Avery was on this earth for almost 12 years. He entered this world as a fighter, fighting bravely to live. Bro. Philip Hoskins, Averey's Dad, said that Avery weighed around 2 lbs and was 14 inches long when he was born. All of his life he was battled with sickness and difficulties, but Avery was a trooper.

Avery always had a smile! His smile was contagious and it would brighten the darkest of times. I do not want to ever forget that memory of him! He will always be my hero! Avery overcame insurmountable obstacles and he did so with a smile. No matter the pain and hardships that he endured.

I can not begin to understand or explain all the things that Avery and his family faced. Bro. Philip and Sis. Bethany Hoskins, Avery's parents, and all of his family members fought these battles alongside him. He had countless hospital stays and many surgeries but they persevered. God stood with them and answered so many prayers for them.

People all over the place prayed and believed that God was able to heal Avery completely. We wanted to see him set free from the things hindered him here. God allowed Avery to stay with his family a lot longer than doctors. predicted. He was a living miracle!

Last week he was totally healed. Avery's earthly race was finished. God called him home to Heaven. In an instant, he was made whole. He no longer had any pain or sickness. He is in the arms of Jesus forever.

Sis. Bethany, Avery's mom, is very eloquent with her words. I wish that I could remember all of the things she wrote about him last week. She did say something like this, Avery took his first steps on golden streets. And he said his first words in the presence of Jesus. He can now see clearly all the beauty of Heaven.

Down here the loss of Avery leaves a gaping hole! I can not claim to fathom the heartbreak of his parents, brothers, sister and all of the family are feeling. I am just one of his many friends/cousins and my heart is aching as type this post. Please join me in praying for his family as they try to navigate life. They have a tough road ahead of them.

Bro. Philip, Sis. Bethany and family, I love you all so much! You are my heroes too. You gave Avery an awesome family.  I appreciate your selflessness to care for his needs! May God bless, comfort and guide you!

I am looking forward to meeting my buddy Avery in Heaven soon. We have a race to run on the streets of gold! I promised Bro. Philip that Avery would win the race.

It is hard to imagine life without my hero! I did not see him often, but He was close to my mind frequently. Avery, thanks for being my hero. Thank you for showing me how to endure life with a smile. I love you forever! See you soon!

Avery loved music. He had his favorite songs. His most favorite song was titled Call Me Gone by the Hinsons. He had great taste in singers too, Kenny Hinson was one the best singers to ever sing, in my opinion! Avery would clap and squeal with delight when he heard this song.  His family and caregivers sang it to him all the time. Several years ago his aunts taught me the secret of this song. I used to get his attention to snap the picture in this post.

Avery would listen to Call Me Gone on repeat on his iPad. They said it often worked better than medicine to relieve his pain or calm him.  Doctors and nurses heard this song playing many times at the hospital. They could not believe that one song could give Avery peace.

I believe Avery grasped the meaning of the song's lyrics. He knew when Jesus called him to Heaven that he would be made whole. He was ready to go home! I am thankful for the solace that Avery found in this song.  In my mind, this will always be Avery's song.

I will close with lyrics to Avery's song. Click here to find a video of the song. Click here for more information on Avery Hoskins. Click here for lots of great pictures of my buddy. Thanks for reading.

Odie

Call Me Gone

Verse

Call me a dreamer

'Cause I call it mine

Heaven, I don't care

Call me crazy

'Cause I'm homesick for it

Yet I have never been there

Call me a stranger

'Cause that's all I am

I know I don't belong

Call me anything 

But when He calls me

Call me gone

Chorus

Call me gone 

I'll be leavin'

Call me gone

You'll be grievin'

If you're left here without 

Jesus to call on

Call me gone

No more heartache

Call me gone

And all that it takes

Is for me to hear Him call me

And call me gone

Recitation 

You know I've been called an awful lot of things in my lifetime

And well smart wasn't often one of them

But I was smart enough one day 

To call Jesus Christ the Lord of my life

And I called it quits to a whole lot of sinnin'

And it's because of that commitment 

That well some folks think it's funny

And laugh and call me foolish

But let them go ahead and laugh

'Cause you see, that doesn't really bother me at all

'Cause even a fool can see

By the shape, she's in 

That this ole world is about to fall

But as long as I let Jesus call the shots

Why I've got nothing at all to fear

And when the roll is called up yonder

Don't call for me 

'Cause I ain't gonna be here

Chorus

Call me gone 

I'll be leavin'

Call me gone

You'll be grievin'

If you're left here without Jesus to call on

Call me gone

No more heartaches

Call me gone

And all that it takes

Is for me to hear Him call me

And call me gone

Tag

Yeah when Jesus calls for me

Just call me gone