The service was unlike any I have ever attended, and that is not a bad thing. The preacher was very good, and "told it like it is," having been encouraged to do so by Suzy, Boyd, and Valerie.
He pointed out that when we make what we may regard as "personal choices" for ourselves, there are never any totally personal choices; what we do affects those we love. As Pastor Wells, pointed out, "just look at this heartbroken family on the front row."
We do take solace in the fact that Mark had accepted Christ as his personal Savior; that was the best choice he or any of us could ever make.
Pastor Wells requested that we do two things: Pray for Suzy & Boyd, Valerie & Emma, Phil, Sherry, Kaylee, & Marisa. And stay in contact with them: call on the phone, shoot out an email, text a message.
The preacher wrote a poem for Mark, and he said that we could post it:
"Mark - A Life That Could Have Been" by Ken Wells
"A young man with a future as bright as the stars,
With grit and determination that would take him far.
A hope and a promise that life would be grand,
The world and its power in the palm of his hand.
"With love and support that no one could doubt,
On his way to his dreams along a great route.
Then it happens that his dreams cease to be,
Only faded memories as he looks back to see.
"A man with struggles and no hope to be had,
With questions and issues that made him so sad.
A life that could have been, a life that was lost,
The only hope he had, was Christ on the cross."
5 comments:
Thank you, Di. This was really nice and totally accurate. Kenneth did a wonderful job on the service and had just the perfect balance of the good and bad in Mark's life. And the poem was done because God woke him up at 1:00 am and put on his heart for him to write the poem. He's never been a poet, but it was absolutely perfect. And I don't think I've ever seen a pastor shed tears in a funeral he's preaching. It was amazing and I can't even express what that meant to us, as well as the outpouring of love and encouragement from so many. We were astounded at how many people came to the service, and then we had almost 40 come to our house afterward for food. Wish you could have come too. That meant so much to us. We have so many wonderful friends and family.
Love, Suzy
That is a beautiful tribute, Diane, thank you for sharing it with those of us who were unable to be there. Words are not coming from my fingers at this keyboard, but I hope Suzy and Boyd and the rest of their family will realize that the love is in my heart for them, the compassion for their sorrow, even though I can't express it very well.
I was so glad to read Di's account and Suzy's response. I'm like Celeste -- don't know what to say but that all of us here love you guys. Wish I could give you a big hug.
Suzy, Twisted,
There is no way that words within a blog can express my feelings toward you. The loss of a child is the hardest thing a parent ever deals with. The pain we felt when Josh died was all-consuming, but you need to know that your faith in God and the salvation of His Son will help you over-come. In time, the memory of Mark will only be sweet and you'll find you can laugh about him once again. We still shed tears occassionally and that's normal, but not as often as nearly 20 years ago.
I wish I could hug you right now. You all are in our daily prayers. We pray for strength and guidance and the enveloping love of God.
Love you,
Candy
Thanks for sharing that Di.
Suzy, I'm sending you a Boyd a big hug and all of my love.
Love you all.
Post a Comment