April Renee Abston

A life worth saving. Her Soul is worth Honoring with great Love and reverence.

Her family gratefully appreciates every donation to help us to do this. There will be a Celebration of her Life! The date will be made known as soon as possible. Donations can be sent directly to A Natural State Funeral Service in Jacksonville to help pay for her service.

April Abston, 49 years old, joined the other Angels awaiting her in Heaven, on November 3, 2025. She was preceded in death by the parents who loved and raised her, Paul W. and Janet M. Hughes, and brother Marc A. Hughes. Also, our biological mother, Jewell M. Mcgee, and younger brother Michael Mcgee, her mother-in-Love, Rosie Abston, and fave brother-in-law, Shane Cochran, my Beloved, have gone before to greet her there.

April leaves behind her daughter, Bethany R. Abston and son Dante L. Abston. As well as her youngest, sweet grandson Negan, and 4 other precious grandchildren, who never have nor ever will leave her thoughts and prayers.

She also leaves behind many sisters and brothers: Marty Hughes JR, Lory Meyers, Tiffany Morace, Christina Hughes, Brittany Mclaughlin…. many other precious nieces, nephews and cousins. Behind… she also leaves me, her annoying little sister, Janet M. Cochran who admired her so, and her adoring niece and nephew Shyla~jane and Samuel, also brother James R. Mcgee, and sister Susan McCoy and family.

Her fiancé, Roberet Humbert, will miss and gratefully carry her Love and honor her for his lifetime… as her presence and light will be with him and treasured by him and us all.

April's impact on those in her life…past and present…in every season and place, family and friends has been a powerful one of courage and Love everywhere she went. She expressed great Strength, and a joyful, sweet, and silly sense of humor. She walked mightily with Grace and Faith in her Heavenly Father. She led her brother and many others to the Love of Christ and understanding of Courage and His Love for them.

She lived for her beloved children. There was nothing she wouldn't do for them. She strived to always make certain that they knew beyond any doubt…and were grounded in the fact that their mother loved them without condition, no matter what. She would sacrifice anything for them. She will Love and continue walking with and praying for you, her babes.

April Renee (Hughes) Abston was a rock…the strongest woman I have known, who overcame despair and near death more times than could be counted.

Doctors called her body an anomaly as she spent so much time in care, challenging their knowledge and abilities…leading them to be better in their position in Healing and compassion. She sure gave them "a run for their money". She fought Crohn's disease with its ugliness, and grief, with great strength and grit. A PowerHouse.

Her hope filled soul was precious. A gift given to this world and those in it….one of a bright beautiful smile, bright red hair and the deepest blue eyes…an infectious laugh (and even a very bright red face laugh that would have anyone to join in.) There was comfort in her voice and in her very presence. She was a born peacemaker…filled with love and the desire to nurture. She deserves the same. Her Heavenly Father is holding her whole and complete.

I am so grateful for the time that my children and I were able to share with her….and loving her the past many months. It was my honor to be there for her as she also was for me. Always.

God sustained my big sis through many trials…. she overcame them all! No matter what she faced…. Jeremiah 29:11 was her promise she believed in "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The Lords purpose for her life was to inspire everyone with kindness, a gentle spirit of acceptance and comfort she was, by God's design. She had a powerful impact on all people in all seasons and spaces of life. She was a powerful light in the lives of so very many. There are those who missed out. Then there are those of us who will honor her great strength, Love and Courage…. every single day for the rest of our lives. The number is great.

This life is fast moving seasons and connections…. embrace and "Be in every moment."

My sisters passing was a surprise to many because she had defeated death so many times…. bound and determined to be here for her children. She spent entirely too much time hospitalized. But even there, she encouraged and inspired those who cared for her to see their faith in God as they saw his hand of hope in her light. Her testimony was shared In caring and timely moments with nurses and everyone who entered her space. Her light shone for them and to inspire them personally and in their important work.

Her Truth would call out your own.

If You saw, recognized and appreciated her Light……it is never to go out! Her physical conditions required great compassion, diligence, listening and learning. Many Dr's called her body and her spirit an anomaly….as she continued to Rise over and over again.

All I ever wanted for her was for her to be settled with the peace and joy she entirely wished for those she loved and all who were simply drawn to her.

April Renee Abston's vibrant and loving soul now rests in peace and surrounded and filled with the ultimate love and freedom. She is free from all pain…. free and reunited with so many who she loved and loved her. She lives in the light and presence of Jesus and a Heavenly Father who never left her side.

She fought the Fight with great determination, and we will miss her with every breath. As well…. we will Honor her courage and her beauty and the God who carried her through in every way we possibly can. Her Spirit Lives to Testify and move us to endure and rise.

Arrangements by A Natural State Funeral Service 2620 West Main Street, Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076. 501-982-3400. Online guestbook available at www.anaturalstatefuneralservice.com

–I Am Speaking to the Warrior in You

–By Jarad Paul Hughes

Listen-

I'm not talking to your fear.

I'm not talking to your doubt, your shame, or the quiet voices that tell you you'll never be enough.

I'm speaking to the fire beneath all that.

The pulse behind your pain.

The ancient thing inside you that refuses to die no matter how many times life has buried you.

You are stronger than you believe.

You are worth more than you've ever been told.

The same breath that formed the stars and carved oceans into the earth-

that same breath lives in you.

You are not weak.

You are not lost.

You are awakening.

Every scar on your skin is sacred script-proof that you've survived what tried to destroy you.

Every mistake, every relapse, every night you thought it was over-

it wasn't the end. It was a beginning disguised as ruin.

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." - Job 33:4

You carry divinity in your chest.

Do you understand that?

You are not some broken vessel waiting to be fixed.

You are a living temple, cracked open so that light could find its way through.

Your suffering did not disqualify you.

It anointed you.

It made you dangerous to the darkness.

Because now you know what it's like to be buried and still rise.

You've been in the valley.

You've been alone.

You've wanted to give up.

But you didn't.

And that means something.

So hear me-

Don't shrink. Don't apologize for your strength, your scars, your story.

The world needs what you carry.

The streets need your testimony.

The broken need your example.

The lost need your light.

You don't need to be perfect.

You just need to be real.

You just need to keep showing up, keep breathing, keep believing that your existence still matters-

because it does.

There's a crown waiting for you-not made of gold,

but of endurance.

There's a kingdom inside you-

not of wealth, but of wisdom, grit, and grace.

"The kingdom of God is within you." - Luke 17:21

So rise.

Not tomorrow. Not when you have it all figured out.

Now.

Because this world doesn't need another imitation.

It needs you-raw, unfiltered, honest, alive.

You've been through hell, yes.

But that's where warriors are forged.

You've felt pain, yes.

But that's where purpose is born.

And if you can hear me now,

it means you still have time to rewrite everything.

You are divine breath wrapped in human form.

You are proof that God still moves through the broken.

You are chosen-not because you're perfect,

but because you're willing.

So stand up.

Wipe your face.

Breathe deep.

And remember who you are.

You are not just surviving-

you are becoming.