Sadie peacefully took her last breath in my arms. I’ve pictured her taking her last breath on earth in my arms and her first breath (w/ no oxygen tubes!) in Heaven in Jesus’s arms. So, of course, there’s sorrow for us left behind. I miss my beautiful, spunky, bright-eyed, curly hair girl. There will be a hole in my life on this side of Heaven. But! There’s also joy. Our baby is free from her broken body.

From Sadie’s mother:

It’s with great sadness and joy that we share with you Sadie Margaret went Home to be with Jesus on Wednesday, June 14 at 10:54 a.m.

Sadie peacefully took her last breath in my arms. I’ve pictured her taking her last breath on earth in my arms and her first breath (w/ no oxygen tubes!) in Heaven in Jesus’s arms.

So, of course, there’s sorrow for us left behind. I miss my beautiful, spunky, bright-eyed, curly hair girl. There will be a hole in my life on this side of Heaven.

But! There’s also joy. Our baby is free from her broken body. I can’t help but be overjoyed for Sadie! She is safe and resting in her Father’s arms. And in a breath, that hole will be gone, our tears will be wiped away, death will be no more, and we will be reunited (Revelation 21:3-5).

My hope overshadows my sorrow.

Thank you. Thank you for witnessing the special life of our littlest girl. Thank you for praying for Sadie and us. Thank you for asking your family/church/friends/etc to pray. I’ll never know this side of Heaven how many people touched her story.

I pray Sadie touched your lives too. If you’ve ever questioned the power of prayer, we’ve witnessed it in overwhelming ways!

Thank you for your words of encouragement along the way. Otis and I are not the strong, perfect parents you might picture. But by God’s grace, He allowed us to walk this incredibly hard and beautiful journey trusting Him, believing in His goodness, receiving abundance of His grace, and overflowing with a great love for our tiny (and then not-so-tiny) girl who fought every day.

Our faith has never been bigger, Our love for each other has never been stronger.

Sadie Margaret Pickett, my precious baby, I thank God with every remembrance of you. (Philippians 1:3)

From her obituary:

Sadie Margaret Pickett went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at her home in Clinton, Miss. Visitation will be held at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, June 20th from 2 to 3 P.M. with funeral services beginning at 3 P.M. Interment will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park, which will be followed by a repast at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Sadie Margaret was born on February 7, 2016 to Otis Westbrook and Julie Thome Pickett at Baptist Hospital in Jackson, Miss. She was in the NICU at Baptist until July 5th, when she was transferred to the NICU at UMMC. After several more months in the NICU, she was able to come home to Clinton on December 15th, 2016 to celebrate Christmas as well as many of the joys of life with her family over the next several months. She was a blessing from the Lord and God used her mightily to encourage His people. She was baptized as a covenant child of God by the Rev. Elbert McGowan, Jr. at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on Sunday, June 4th. She passed away to be with Jesus ten days later.

In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in Sadie’s memory to Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.

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