Roane A. Nelson

Jesus called Roane Alan Nelson (or “Roanie Cutie” as he called himself) home to Heaven on June 18, 2016.  Our family, and friends who knew him, were blessed to enjoy 4 ½ years of his sweetness.  He died at our “Green Mailbox Ranch” in Brenham, Texas, the place he called home and dearly loved.  Needless to say, the rest of our lives have forever changed.  It’s a journey that we prayed would never happen, but it’s now part of our story.  

Roane loved the simple things in life.  Roane found joy in everything – great and small.  Roane was easy to love and loved loving others.  Roane was the precious child that we never deserved – he was goofy, his smile was constant, and his passion for life was contagious.  He was the happiest 4-year-old boy that we could imagine!  His life knew no pain, only joy and love.  In short, he was the heartbeat of our family. 

While we knew we were never guaranteed another day, you never expect that day to be the last day.  Thankfully, we had 4 great years with our boy, but now he is in heaven with Christ.  Roane was not ours to keep, but only ours to love.  While his loss still deeply hurts, we praise God that we have no regrets with Roane’s life.  We loved him deeply and he knew it.  

We take great comfort in the fact that we spent every moment that we could with Roane.  We sometimes wondered why he needed so much of our attention and why we were so quick to oblige, but now we know that it was because we only had a short time with him here on Earth.  We have no regrets of not loving Roane more or spending time with him more.  

While Roane’s passing to Heaven is difficult, even in Roane’s death we look to many of the blessings that we were provided.  For example, our last image of Roane was of a perfect face, with a slight smile.  Roane’s last moments here on Earth were with Shane on our ranch – and that brings us great joy.    

We fully believe that God is sovereign, that God knows when each of is will be born and when each of us will die.  Despite the tragic loss in which we lost Roane, we know that God allowed that to happen.  While we do not know all the reasons why Jesus called Roane home to Heaven, we are convinced that God has a purpose and God can use Roane’s death for His glory.  While it hurts us tremendously to say it, but if by Roane’s death even one person comes to have a personal relationship with Christ and thereby goes to Heaven – whether that has already happened or will happen in years to come, then with joy and sadness Roane’s death is worth the price.  

We wish daily to see Roane’s smiling face, to feel his hugs, and to hear him laugh.  We cry with our loss of Roane.  Everything we do with our kids, with our family, at our ranch is a constant reminder that someone is missing.  But we know that Roane is safe in Jesus’ arms, and that we will see Roane again.  As Christians, we get to live the rest of our lives truly looking forward to Heaven and having our son welcome us with his smiling face and outstretched arms with a healed body.  Death does not scare us.  

At times, we are reminded that like our loss of our son Roane, God lost his own son Jesus here on earth for our sins.  As much as we love Roane, we know that God somehow loves us more, and he loves you.  In these hard times, we are continually reminded that God loves us unconditionally.  We rely on the truths that God gives us in the Bible.  As John 3:16 clearly and easily states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosever believes in Him shall have eternal life.”  It’s no more complicated than that, and the Bible repeatedly reminds us that a child-like faith is all that is needed.    

We welcome your prayers, and your continued love and support for our family not only now but also in the months and years to come.  This is unfortunately a life long journey, and we will always have a huge hole in our hearts without Roane.  Rather than just asking that you generically to pray for our family, we ask you to specifically pray for (1) removal of any guilt and bad images of Roane’s death, (2) the survival of our marriage, (3) our kids, and (4) joy and laughter in our hearts and home. 

We pray that we can be more like Roane – that we have a simple passion for life, joy in everything, and love for all.  We pray that we never take another day granted, for we are not promised tomorrow.  We pray that we can live each day to its fullest.  We pray that we can be purposeful in life, and point to Christ in the good times and the bad times.

Thank you for taking this journey with us.     

God is Good.