This is another “guest post” by my wife, Faye Richardson Mayberry:

I went to lunch with one of my sisters in Thatcher and she told me, “Ashton is free. He doesn’t have to deal with his body any more. This life is all about the body.”

I’ve thought a lot about that last sentence of hers and it’s so true. This body we have is all consuming for us. Much of what we do on this earth is taking care of our bodies. We feed it, water it, wash it, cover it, work it, rest it, exercise it, and do our best to keep it feeling well. Big bodies take care of little bodies.

This life IS all about the body.

When Ashton was born, April 30, 1992, he had to stay in the hospital for a few days because of jaundice. It was hard for me to leave him there while I went home. I finally got to bring that little body  home on my birthday, May 4th. He was my birthday present.  I took care of that little body for a long time.  So, when Ashton died, I still felt very responsible for that bigger body. I stayed with him until my dad came to pick him up. Carter and I helped  to load him in the van. We went down to the mortuary and helped unload him. I was so glad my dad was going to be the one taking responsibility for him. It would have been very hard to leave him with someone else. My dad told me later that in all his years in his profession, he has never had a family member participate in loading the body of their loved one on the stretcher. I’m including that here, not because I am anyone special. All I knew, at the time, is that I had a huge need to be sure his body was taken care of. He was MY boy and my mother instinct was running at full force. I was like a lioness protecting her cub, and I was responsible for him as long as he was on this earth.

One of the first things I missed the most when Ashton was gone was that body. I was used to him sitting at my table, laying on my couch, sitting at my computer, laying in his bed. I missed the spirit that lived in his body, the one that smiled at me, ate my food, sat by me in church, joked with his brothers, and played with his nieces and nephews. I missed touching him and rubbing his head while telling him good night before going to bed. I still do.

I believe that we lived as spirits before we came to this earth. I believe that as we came to this earth our spirits were given a body to dwell in.  I believe this body we have been given is a gift from God. We are responsible to take care of it the best way we know how. I did my best to help take care of Ashton’s body…my very best.